Who is dying? Are the vulnerable shielding?

[Mrshirst11]

I can’t find any data on the deaths.

I can only find a number but no information about ages etc.

Who exactly is dying from Covid? Is it people who are ill in hospital? Elderly people? Vulnerable?

Or is it the young? Young with health conditions?

Can anyone shed any light.

I was so shocked to see the death figures yesterday are nearly back up to 1000...! 😞

I did notice they've put those with a BMI of 40 or above back o n the shielding list for tier 4 areas.

No idea re death breakdown but thought that was interesting. I very much doubt most people are checking the Gov.uk site for changes to shielding lists.

‘all Unsure33 ’ What is your solution since life is all valuable but there are also people committing suicide over lockdowns and financial hardship?

From what I've read the 8yo had underlying health conditions.

So fucking what? Its still a tragedy that shouldn't have happened if the government had got their shit together.

people with underlying health conditions aren't of less value, people need to stop behaving like they are.

@summerstorms - I think this is a natural reaction. I too have a read to see if the extremely rare child deaths are from underlying conditions. It’s not that I think their lives are any less valuable. God no. It’s just as a parent I fear anything that could hurt my child. At the moment, I don’t worry about them getting COVID as they are healthy as far as I know. & its nearly always very mild in children. But if there was any hint that it hard started killing or making children seriously ill who didn’t have any vulnerabilities, I’d be back feeling anxious again. Similarly with adults, no-one deserves to die of this but for my own mental health I have to assess my own personal risk as a young, healthy adult. And part of that is ascertaining who this is killing. I will continue to do my bit for the greater good & larger society by following the rules but I don’t personally worry about catching COVID after reading statistics. Which helps me live day to day feeling normal & not worried.

@ktp100

I did notice they've put those with a BMI of 40 or above back o n the shielding list for tier 4 areas.

No idea re death breakdown but thought that was interesting. I very much doubt most people are checking the Gov.uk site for changes to shielding lists.

They do not appear to have done that. Following is the list of currently shielded categories taken from www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19 31/12/20 version

• solid organ transplant recipients

• people with specific cancers:

a) people with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy b) people with lung cancer who are undergoing radical radiotherapy c) people with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment d) people having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer e) people having other targeted cancer treatments that can affect the immune system, such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors

• people who have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs

• people with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis,

• severe asthma and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

• people with rare diseases that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), homozygous sickle cell disease)

• people on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection

• problems with your spleen, for example splenectomy (having your spleen removed)

• adults with Down's syndrome

• adults on dialysis or with chronic kidney disease (stage 5)

• women who are pregnant with significant heart disease, congenital or acquired

• other people who have also been classed as clinically extremely vulnerable, based on clinical judgement and an assessment of their needs. GPs and hospital clinicians have been provided with guidance to support these decisions

[quote MoirasRoses]@summerstorms - I think this is a natural reaction. I too have a read to see if the extremely rare child deaths are from underlying conditions. It’s not that I think their lives are any less valuable. God no. It’s just as a parent I fear anything that could hurt my child. At the moment, I don’t worry about them getting COVID as they are healthy as far as I know. & its nearly always very mild in children. But if there was any hint that it hard started killing or making children seriously ill who didn’t have any vulnerabilities, I’d be back feeling anxious again. Similarly with adults, no-one deserves to die of this but for my own mental health I have to assess my own personal risk as a young, healthy adult. And part of that is ascertaining who this is killing. I will continue to do my bit for the greater good & larger society by following the rules but I don’t personally worry about catching COVID after reading statistics. Which helps me live day to day feeling normal & not worried.[/quote]
Agree. Don't think people are being unkind, just trying to assess what the situation means for them and their family
The poster above who said 8 year old had health conditions did stress how sad it was. Having an 8 year old myself, i also admit to wanting to know this info

@CountessFrog

If 95% are over 60 and 57% over 80 then it’s unlikely to be teaching in classrooms that has led to at least 57% of those deaths.

The 38% between 60-80 are also much less likely to be employed than somebody a decade younger.

I don’t understand where they are catching it, though I know of a man aged 80 who narrowly missed catching it from his 55 year old daughter (who recovered quickly) and I have a 70 odd year old MIL who refuses to follow rules.

It could be through seeing children and grandchildren, via carers or being in hospital. Or it could be via being out and about at other places.

It keeps being said in the briefings that once numbers rise in young people, it will filter up to older generations too

So if I die I will be classed as dying with an underlying condition even though there is nothing wrong with me apart from a bit of podge

I think that's where society has misunderstood the dangers of the obesity epidemic, though. While you personally may be really healthy (and it most certainly matters if you do suffer badly from Covid, by the way, that should go without saying), a lot of obesity is associated with all sorts of things from metabolic issues to low grade chronic inflammation. It's something we need to face up to as a whole. We have become convinced it's not an issue in any way when it really can be even for people who are only a bit overweight. But I know the answer to obesity is v complex - it's so often linked to trauma for one so that is not an issue of individual blame.

The stats are frying my brain a bit. 50K new cases a day and 25K hospital admissions. So, sounds like half of all new cases are hospitalised but actually it must be higher because the admissions are new cases from a few weeks ago.did I mishear the news?

Great question Splodge that sounds like it can’t be true but it must be but it can’t?!?

Can anyone shed any light?

Why are re the death numbers on the nhs link (I believe this is numbers dying in hospital) so much lower than the number we get on sky news? Are there loads of people dying outside of hospitals?

@Splodgetastic

The stats are frying my brain a bit. 50K new cases a day and 25K hospital admissions. So, sounds like half of all new cases are hospitalised but actually it must be higher because the admissions are new cases from a few weeks ago.did I mishear the news?

The 25k is (probably) a garble of the latest available number of all those in hospital who are positive for covid (23,823)

2,434 were admitted according to latest daily on the gov dashboard

I heard a doctor interviewed on the radio either yesterday or this morning and he said the majority of hospital admissions at the moment are of middle aged people.

@Splodgetastic The 25k will be currently hospitalised patients (not admissions per day)

Thanks for clarifying that about admissions both.

@Lemons1571

Why are re the death numbers on the nhs link (I believe this is numbers dying in hospital) so much lower than the number we get on sky news? Are there loads of people dying outside of hospitals?

Yes, that link is only hospital deaths in England, so doesn’t include Scotland, Wales or NI, or deaths occurring at home or in care homes (which I think today was 193 compared with 420 hospital)

@Xerochrysum

It really doesn't matter who is dying, if so many people are dying, most of them had years to live without covid. And it's quite simple to just google. Everyone is important to anyone who are close to them. I just can't see any good intention in thread like this.

Can you explain your comment more ?

It really doesn't matter whos dying ? Tell that to the people who have lost someone to covid .

I think you've misunderstood Xero, natsal

@Lumene

An 8 year old died today sadly. If transmission numbers keep going up there will be increased deaths in every age group.

Absolutely tragic, (and I've lost a child so I'm not just making a throwaway comment ) but they did have serious health issues.

I'm CEV and am on drugs that mean I should definitely have shielded throughout. I haven't. Didn't want to, wouldn't dream of it and have worked in a very risky place throughout. I had covid. Extremely mild.

CountessFrog

If 95% are over 60 and 57% over 80 then it’s unlikely to be teaching in classrooms that has led to at least 57% of those deaths.
But those teachers are possibly in contact with an asymptomatic child and living with or visiting older parents.

I’m classed as vulnerable due to immunosuppressants and diabetes. I’m not old. I don’t go out save a rare quick pop to a supermarket late at night to avoid people. I caught Covid from a tradesman doing work on my house who had mild symptoms but assumed he had caught a cold. I know he worked on someone else’s house in that time too and visited a friend down the street from me.

Turns out that little pop to the shops is likely when I could have infected someone else as I went 4 days before getting Symptoms. Had I been the type to have a daily walk, or had to journey to work or walk a dog I could have infected more without knowing.

@Natsel84, what I meant was, as in it doesn't matter who/what group of people/old/young/ill/healthy, etc, since everyone matter, and everyone is important to someone.
I'm non native English speaker, I am sorry if my intention was unclear and made you upset.