Right, the vaccine is coming - when we get our normality back?

[Whenismumhome]

Normality as in no more masks, Perspex screens, social distancing and lockdowns etc etc - just back to normal like it was in 2019.

Surely by summer we will have some sort of normality back?

I think some things will stay, but perhaps not be law. Masks on public transport for example, may be encouraged, and screens etc in shops may stay. I think this pandemic has changed the world as we know it and it wont go back to how it was before, not completely. Thats not being negative, I would welcome some things staying if it meant less illness in general.

He and Whitty have had their moment in the spotlight
Time they crawl back under their rocks
They've done enough damage

I'd certainly go with this.

He and Whitty have had their moment in the spotlight
Time they crawl back under their rocks
They've done enough damage

@tortoiseshell1985 could you please give some detail rather than just crawling all over multiple threads making unfounded implications?

@FindHungrySamurai

In terms of legal restrictions that was a huge revolt by the Conservative libertarian wing the other day. Once the over 70s and the NHS staff have been vaccinated twice and the NHS is no longer at risk then legal restrictions will not be supported in Parliament. I’d guess March to coincide with end of flu season.

And that's with 600 people dying from Covid every day, a lot of MP's and people still think restrictions are wrong. Those figures will likely be worse in January.

Once we're out of winter and the vulnerable are vaccinated then it's another story for sure.

@Dollywilde

When people say they’re happy to continue with masks, do you not find that they really impact on your interactions? I find it impossible to ‘read’ people’s emotions when someone has a mask on, plus I found them quite sinister in my corner of gritty south east London. I also have slight hearing issues and have found it very hard to understand some people in masks - I missed some details of an important medical appointment without realising because I couldn’t hear the nurse through her mask.

I’m 100% up for sanitising, hand washing and Perspex screens but I really hope the wearing of masks decreases :( I suppose I can get behind people wearing them when sick but tbh I’d prefer if we normalised staying at home if you possibly can when you have a cold.

I'd be happy with something similar to Asian culture where if people are out and about in busy places when they're ill and can't keep a distance, then wear a mask. Healthy people won't need to wear them.

People need to be less reckless with other people's health when they're not well.

There’s no need for masks and all the rest after the main groups have been vaccinated surely? It seems ridiculous.

@Funkypolar You don’t see a return to ‘Normal?’

I must admit, I'd be tempted to continue wearing masks even once everything is back to normal. Usually by this point in the year I would have been 2 months into my Oct- April constant low level cold. As would my DD who just gets constantly reinfected at school.

I think April/May is when the most vulnerable will have been vaccinated, as a result we'll see reduced death rate and hospitalisation which will also bring down the cases, so we'll go back to something much more akin to normal.

@BikeRunSki

JVT was in the news/Newsnight last night saying that masks, social distancing, hand washing etc should carry on for the control of respiratory illnesses regardless of vaccinations.

I think what he meant is that people might choose to take measures such as wearing masks or increased hand washing when sick or during flu season, not that these would be enforced.

As for social distancing, whole industries - entertainment, hospitality, transport - cannot survive long-term with SD in place, so such restrictions will be dropped as soon as possible. I'm guessing - hoping! - by easter or certainly by summer.

I think if and hopefully when the Oxford vaccine gets approval, it will really ramp up and maybe back to normal by summer.

I am waiting for the Oxford vaccine to be released; when that is rolled out, I think most of the restrictions will be lifted. My best guess is a similar coverage to the flu jab - get the vulnerable groups done and then anyone else who wants/needs it.
Everything will ease in the spring and normalcy can be expected by the summer.

I think this pandemic has changed the world as we know it and it wont go back to how it was before, not completely.

I guess that depends on how you look at it. 'Normal' is constantly in flux, and things are never exactly as they were 'before'.

However, I'm not convinced that we will see major long-term social changes because of this pandemic. There's going to be major economic fall-out, and probably some practices such as WFH and less business travel will become more popular, but I don't think this will be seen as a major turning point in the long or even medium term.

Does anyone know why boxes of vitamin D isn't being dispatched to care homes in England until January? I would have thought even our inept government could get boxes out direct from manufacturers within a couple of weeks of the decision (which was early November). My suspicions mind says that Matt Hancock wants to do it at the same time as the vaccine to cover up the fact that if the elderly hasn't been vitamin D deficient, they wouldn't have succumbed to Covid so seriously, or in such large numbers.

For anyone wanting timelines.

Remember the so called Lockdown was 3 week.
Boris also said in March we'd "defeat the virus" (Fist shake) in 12 weeks.

Bushola that's my worry. Also Im no 6 on the list and don't want people to go back to normal and I get it before they get arouns to vaccinating me!

I think people massively underestimate the economic costs of the pandemic when they talk about going back to normal after a vaccine.

@PineappleUpsideDownCake

Bushola that's my worry. Also Im no 6 on the list and don't want people to go back to normal and I get it before they get arouns to vaccinating me!

If you're that far down the list you'd be unlikely to have a serious illness even if you did catch Covid. In any case, nothing stopping you staying at home and avoiding crowded places even if others are free to do so.

@BluebellsGreenbells

Nobody is safe until there’s a large uptake of the vaccine.

We need to eliminate the disease but keep those who can’t have the vaccine safe - the only way that will happen is when there is herd community.

It will be months before any normally occurs and only then for those vaccinated. Everyone else will have to wait.

😱nobody is safe!

Nobody is safe?...🤔

Many are at risk, and I hope the vaccines work for them. But whatever stats are considered, a significant proportion of the population are safe from this virus. That's scientific fact (and is not a deliberate or callous dismissal of those who aren't, or the many who have died).

@beela

The 800k batch could give a first dose to 800k people, it depends when the next batch is due.

Perspex screens are here forever imo, businesses have spent a fortune installing them and I can't see them spending money removing them.

I also don't see why businesses would bother to remove the perspex screens. They cost money to install and they will protect their staff from getting ill, thus reducing staff absences. Of course, screens between tables in restaurants etc may be removed but I imagine they will stay at cash desks etc.

I heard an interview with Van Tam where he explained they thought they could vaccinate 1million people per week, there are 65 million people in the UK so that's more than 12 months to vaccinate the entire population.
The arrival of a vaccine is great news but it's going to take a good while to get completely back to normal and I think many things, such as many people working from home, will be a permanent change.

I heard an interview with Van Tam where he explained they thought they could vaccinate 1million people per week, there are 65 million people in the UK so that's more than 12 months to vaccinate the entire population.

The vaccine hasn't been tested on children, so presumably it won't be given to those under 15 - or maybe older - which is a good chunk of the population.

Also, only a minority of people are at high risk, and they will be vaccinated first. Covid is a mild illness for the vast majority. so the economy and society will not be put on hold for another year to 'protect' people who are unlikely to have a serious illness even if they catch Covid.

The thing I'd like to know (having a couple of clinically vulnerable grandparents who are high on the list for jabs) - if the vaccine is 95% effective, say, then that still means that 1 in every 20 people who have it will still be vulnerable to catching it (though perhaps a weaker version of it).
If they're not going to vaccinate children, then when will it be safe to visit older relatives? Even if all the adults are vaccinated, because of people not taking up the vaccines, it'll bring up the risk of it still spreading.

They’ve already said it’s going to personal responsibility from April. Once the vulnerable have been vaccinated and hence the pressure relieved on the NHS then restrictions will ease and I think life will seem more normal. JVT said this will be an endemic disease now, but we don’t have restrictions for flu do we?

Main BBC news headline “no immediate return to normal after vaccine”

Given that previous pandemics have reached a natural conclusion in 18months - 2 years without a vaccine I would hope that by summer. next year we are pretty much back to normal. I do think that the hand washing & screens are still a good idea. Masks for those who feel they benefit from using them aren’t a bad thing but hopefully they will be a choice rather than compulsory. I can’t wait, it feels so much more positive now but we could learn some lessons from this which will hopefully benefit us all in the long run. Even dropping the kids to school is easier now as we just drop them at the gate rather than hang around the playground. I’d like that to continue

Anyone have a link to the patient info leaflet?

I am CEV and because of underlying conditions, plus allergies/intolerances there's already quite a few things I cannot have. Regardless of our vulnerabilities there will be others in the same situation.