Obese people to get the vaccine before healthy 50 year olds.

[Sb2012]

Just something that came through in a newsfeed. Don’t know how accurate. Headline said “ Obese people to get the vaccine before healthy 50 year olds.”
What are your thoughts on this? I’m not sure how I feel tbh. I guess it’s proven that obese people are at a higher risk.
However, what about the under 50 healthy BMI teachers, supermarket workers etc I don’t think it is fair to prioritise an obese 40 year old who works from home or doesn’t work at all over a normal BMI 40 year old teacher, supermarket worker or taxi driver

So do you also think it unfair to prioritise an 85 year old in a care home over teachers, supermarket workers, etc? Or an asthmatic 60 year old who still works? How are you drawing these lines of entitlement.
The government are basing this on clinical vulnerability, not on perceived worth to society

@Sb2012

Just something that came through in a newsfeed. Don’t know how accurate. Headline said “ Obese people to get the vaccine before healthy 50 year olds.” What are your thoughts on this? I’m not sure how I feel tbh. I guess it’s proven that obese people are at a higher risk. However, what about the under 50 healthy BMI teachers, supermarket workers etc I don’t think it is fair to prioritise an obese 40 year old who works from home or doesn’t work at all over a normal BMI 40 year old teacher, supermarket worker or taxi driver

There’s an obvious and clear link with increased mortality rates and older age. With obesity there is some evidence there, however it’s not as likely as you dying from obesity compared to old age. Also old age can’t be helped or avoided, neither can lung issues such as severe asthma etc. However obesity can be helped and therefore I’m not sure how I feel about obese people being prioritised over those who work in high risk roles.

@RayOfSunshine2013

Hello, Katie Hopkins?

What are your thoughts on this?

My thoughts are that headlines like these bring out the worst in people and lead into a murky world of the 'deserving' and 'undeserving' vulnerable.

Priority for getting the vaccine should be purely based on who is most likely to become seriously ill if they catch covid. They must have determined from the statistics that high BMI is a strong factor. The sooner the most vulnerable people get vaccinated, the sooner we can hopefully get back to some old style normal.

Personally I do not care as I’m unlikely to be in an early tier for this and even if I am (which I could be) I am not having any vaccine until it has been around for over 12 months.

38 and still obese here. I've lost 73lbs since March so I'm trying to do something about it, in part because of Covid being a wake-up call although I'd started weightloss before lockdown. I'd like to be treated like all the other high-risk groups.

What about smokers? No treatment for lung cancer. Drinkers? No treatment for liver disease. Skiers? No treatment if they break their leg. Where do you draw the line?

Are you planning to put older people with COPD caused by smoking into the undeserving category as well? Where does it stop?

@raspberrymilton

No, not me, but I do love her

Why should those fat bastards be saved?

🙄

@rookiemere

Priority for getting the vaccine should be purely based on who is most likely to become seriously ill if they catch covid. They must have determined from the statistics that high BMI is a strong factor. The sooner the most vulnerable people get vaccinated, the sooner we can hopefully get back to some old style normal.

Yes. This. The obese are vulnerable so need the vaccine first.

Eating too many burgers isnt the rest of the country’s problem to pay for

Oh so we are back to individualism now. Thanks for the heads up. Im sure some will be pleased to hear this so they can ditch the masks. You know the ones. The ones that protect OTHERS.

I watched The Flu that Killed 50 Million last night. It was originally made two years ago but recently updated to include Covid. At the end of the programme they compared how the two spread so easily
Spanish flu= by boat.
Covid 19= AIR TRAVEL.

Considering i havent been abroad since 1986 and that was a school trip maybe i should apply the same logic and say i dont see why this problem should be down to the countrys non holidaymakers to pay for.

Obesity can be helped but not overnight.

The decision is presumably based on clinical assessment of who is at higher risk of illness and overwhelming the NHS if they get it. M
Plenty of other illnesses or conditions are lifestyle related - COPD? I’ve not seen many people suggesting people with COPD are less worthy of the vaccine or being looked after than others even though most people with COPD smoke?

Obese people can’t win. They are blamed for clogging up the ICUs and overwhelming the NHS and now the vaccine is here that might stop that happening people complain about that too. Last time I looked obese people were also human beings and entitled to be treated with the same kind of respect as anyone else.

In the interests of disclosure I’m obese myself

Hey, a few extra pounds? You don’t deserve protection.
What a nasty thread.

You could argue that this decision is based on cold hard economics. The more people who get sick, the more it costs in NHS spending to look after them. So it makes economic sense to make the vaccine investment work (though presumably risk is calculated as a multiple of [risk of exposure] times [risk of needing a lot f expensive care], IYSWIM)

Im 47 and in the overweight category. I havent made my mind up about the vaccine yet.

DH is 70 , has COPD and doesnt want it
My 84 year old parents dont want it either.

This will likely be echoed all over the country so will probably even itself out anyway.

As a healthy 48 year old I agree! Anyone more vulnerable than me should come first...50 isn;t old...it's not weak...there's no need to assume a fit 50 year old is more at risk. I know 55 year old who runs marathons...and a 52 year old who runs yoga classes and walks miles daily...and I know an obese 40 year old who can barely get to the bottom of his garden. It's not HIS fault...he had an abusive childhood...starved and neglected...

@candycane222

You could argue that this decision is based on cold hard economics. The more people who get sick, the more it costs in NHS spending to look after them. So it makes economic sense to make the vaccine investment work (though presumably risk is calculated as a multiple of [risk of exposure] times [risk of needing a lot f expensive care], IYSWIM)

Exactly this. The groups who are more likely to overwhelm the NHS are the ones who are prioritised.

DH and I would be the last ones to be vaccinated. Like many others we don’t fall into any of the categories. We have followed all the rules and done everything we can to help protect the vulnerable around us. It’s been miserable for us too even if we don’t complain. I have kids at school and a newborn. I can’t help to think is it fair that whilst everyone else gets vaccinated and back to a normal life, we would still be wearing masks, SD and avoiding elderly family members because we don’t have health conditions or are obese.

@MadameBlobby Totally agree.

DH stopped the fags in 2006 on the day of his heart attack He hasnt had one since but says he still has the urge for them.

@Sb2012

DH and I would be the last ones to be vaccinated. Like many others we don’t fall into any of the categories. We have followed all the rules and done everything we can to help protect the vulnerable around us. It’s been miserable for us too even if we don’t complain. I have kids at school and a newborn. I can’t help to think is it fair that whilst everyone else gets vaccinated and back to a normal life, we would still be wearing masks, SD and avoiding elderly family members because we don’t have health conditions or are obese.

Seriously, shut up. Just shut up.

DH and I would be the last ones to be vaccinated. Like many others we don’t fall into any of the categories. We have followed all the rules and done everything we can to help protect the vulnerable around us. It’s been miserable for us too even if we don’t complain. I have kids at school and a newborn. I can’t help to think is it fair that whilst everyone else gets vaccinated and back to a normal life, we would still be wearing masks, SD and avoiding elderly family members because we don’t have health conditions or are obese

I hear tiny violins playing