To think that not everyone is scared

[loveisagirlnameddaisy]

Of catching Covid....?

I'm sure I'll be flamed to within an inch of my life but never mind. And yes, this thread may have been done to death before but hey ho.

Having read countless threads today about schools closing/not closing and cases rocketing/going down, can I get a sense check of who is terrified about catching Covid (and why) and who is not?

For balance, I also read a thread the other day from a person who is clinically vulnerable and whose DH had just tested positive and she was terrified. Almost the entire thread was filled by other clinically vulnerable people who had had Covid and told her not to worry.

So, while we can all agree that yes, this is a novel virus and yes, people will die because that happens with any virus, is this the virus which we should all be terrified of?

I’m more afraid of the repeated isolations and the risk of losing our home the longer it goes on than on the virus itself and extremely worried about the long term mental health implications.

If we are doing risk assessment stats, my favourite is SLIPPERS.

A few years ago Age Concern did a ‘slipper amnesty’ because 370,000 old people have a fall due to their old slippers.
A lot of these old people will require hospitalisation for their fall...and given 25+% of Covid is acquired in hospitals, maybe we could get better results by banning slippers

Don’t believe me on the slipper amnesty...here you go
www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1960/Amnesty-not-for-guns-for-your-deadly-slippers

@LondonFE

I don't want it and am actively avoiding catching it but I'm not scared of it and think that the impact on education or the economy has been disproportionate.

Every year healthy people die unexpectedly of short illness. The % increase of deaths due to Covid for those who were not already life limited, very elderly is, in my opinion not worth the long term damage to our country.

The people I know who are most anxious about going back to work are also the laziest. Don't care if I get flamed, it's my observation.

I couldn't agree more

Our lives are quite risk free for the most part. Average life expectancy is in the 80s, many cancers, heart conditions, strokes etc are survivable. Maybe that's why some people are disproportionately worried about this.

My father nearly died of pneumonia in his teens; someone I knew at uni died of flu complications aged 21. Two of my DSs peers died as teenagers from undiagnosed cardiac issues and another from sepsis. I've dealt through my job with many shocking, sudden and tragic deaths. My mum (and DPs mum) both died suddenly and unexpectedly from cancer in their 50s and 60s respectively. I wouldn't say I am blasé about the risks but I think perhaps it gives me a different perspective than those with a whole family of relatives in their 80s and 90s.

I'm not terrified of catching covid as I am low risk.

I am terrified of lots of people catching it at the same time. My hospital is close to capacity, not just for COVID, but for all things, so tomorrow we may need to refuse someone who has had a heart attack or a road traffic accident, meaning they have to travel further or longer, increasing their risk of death or serious injury/ brain damage.

I'm scared.

[quote Unsure33]@hamstersarse

My aunt and uncle died of covid.my husbands aunt and uncle died of covid

My cousins family all have it . Her husband has been seriously ill . Her FIL died within days . Her MIL is still in hospital.

My BIL has been very ill with it for weeks .

A friends 30 year old daughter has been in hospital with covid .

Just appreciate you have been lucky .[/quote]
A lot of life is down to luck - where you are born, your genetics, your parents - I’m with you on the luck factor.

But doesn’t make me frightened. I’m just bumping my way through life like anyone else, but do not expect it to be free from suffering

Having just nipped over the Co-Op for some milk, I’m more worried about being run over by Daz in his Vauxhall Corsa on the zebra crossing.

However back to Covid. Not worried for myself but would hate to pass it on to any vulnerable relatives. Was travelling a lot for work in Feb/early March including the tube and train during Cheltenham festival and nothing at all. There was a really nasty bug doing the rounds at work back in Dec 2019/ early Jan 2020 which left many of us with a cough lasting several weeks but who knows if that was Covid.

The scariest thing seems to be the unpredictability of it therefore I’ll keep on with the mask wearing, social distancing, hand sanitising and the other restrictions.

I was initially - now I'm more fearful for my kids' mental health as this goes on - and my own, which is so dark now it's terrifying to have to live inside my head.

I'm scared of what it's doing to society, to people who have been cut off from support networks that normally would be keeping them afloat, to what it's doing to people who will now gleefully report neighbours for what they view as breaches while not knowing the full story (like the ones around here who shamed a family on social media for having a "lockdown party" - they actually had had two family members come round to leave a shirt on the doorstep for the family to attend their father's funeral). That is a world I don't want to live in.

I'm fairly sure me and DD1 had it at the start of the pandemic - but before tests were available - but even if we didn't - I fear living like this more than death to be honest.

I am not scared of catching covid (have already had it once with minor symptoms and no after effects) but what concerns me is people who will walk along together and trying to force me to walk in the road to maintain the 2m social distance and then proceed to complain because I will pass them quite closely.

I’m not scared of the virus at all. I’m scared of the collective madness that has consumed our society and taken away almost everything that makes life worth living!

Normally I personally wouldn't be to bothered. At the moment I have no wish to spend anymore time in hospital tha I already do.

My husband and 3 eldest kids are ambivalent about catching it and little one is oblivious. Their only concern is the risk of giving it to me as I am in the middle of chemo.

If this was a year ago I would be the same as them. Be cautious, if you catch it the odds are you'll be ok. Probably had worse cases of tonsillitis in this house so not over panicked.

YANBU. I am totally unworried. I’m late 40s and fit and healthy. DD is 10 and also fit, not worried about her either. I’m much more worried about the Horlick we’re collectively making of the world she’ll have to grow up in.

I'm not terrified but I'm certainly not blase about it or 'wonder what all the fuss is about'. I'm heading towards 50 and hopefully I wouldn't die if I got it but I really wouldn't want to chance it and I really don't want long covid or any of the horrible complications that can come with it. I know someone who is now on ventilation for life :-(

I'm not scared of covid. I've had it. I know a lot of people - at least 50 people - who've had it and most hardly knew they were ill. My elderly parents were sick but recovered quickly, vulnerable friends had few symptoms.

I do know one poor lady who has suffered terribly with long COVID.

I worry more about getting cancer as I know a few people my age who've died of that.

My son had covid hes 18 he did have some of the symptoms. But on the mild side. He did say his chest hurt and breathing felt a bit funny but not to the extent that he was worried. There are 8 of us in my house. Including small children/special needs who do things like sniff and lick people /things. Touch wood. Only my 18 year old got it and did not pass it on to the rest of us (as far as i know ) so that does make me think is it really contagious as we are being told.

Also how heigh is the death rate (really) as I have heard if someone dies of say heart attack they are still putting covid as cause of death.

I also know 2 nurses one in London. one out of London. The one in London is saying its ok and not as busy as people are making out . But the one out of London is saying its unbearable. The one in London says alot of it is the media hyping it all up.

There are lots of people testing positive but how many are at home with mild symptoms and how many are actually effected.

But I do understand that people who are vulnerable would be worried.

It is not just about being scared though is it! I certainly don't want to catch it because none of us have any way of knowing just how badly we will get it. You could be asymptomatic, walking around totally oblivious to the fact that you have it and might be infecting others. You could get it mildly or you could die of it. It doesn't have any rhyme or reason regarding who or how it will infect.

I am careful of my own health and wellbeing, but I also stay in and follow the rules because I don't want to inadvertently infect anyone else. My asymptomatic or mild dose could be a killer for someone else. I think that people who want to get on with their own lives as normal because they 'aren't scared' or are 'prepared to take my chance' are socially irresponsible. People taking their chance add to the nhs hospital load and potentially infect others who could die. That attitude delays all of us getting back to normal.

I'm ECV and not terrified. You can't put your life on hold for something that might happen. I know two people who have died and they were both diabetics.

It's very easy to be 'not afraid' when you are in control of the risks you are exposed to. Lots of people in the pubic eye banging on about getting back to work blah blah, are able to work from home.

I have a friend who told me I was being a lazy chicken (in not those words, but that's what she meant) when I was worried about school back in October. She also proudly boasted about how she'd not left the house for any reason than deserted beach swims and walks since March. Congratulations for being able to manage your risk.

I know two people who have died and they were both diabetics.

Ah well, that's alright then. Serves them right.

I am scared of having another illness and not being able to get the operation/ treatment as the hospitals are filled with Covid patients . That said my 12 year old son had Covid and he was in bed for over a week, totally unlike him !

Not scared but just take sensible precautions as I travel worldwide to continue my work. Have had more covid tests than I care to remember now prior to flights, pre arrivals on entering countries and if there have been +ve tests returned by others working on my projects. The show must go on even in these challenging times in some areas of industry and life, we can't hide away forever.
I do get anxious though that if i return a +ve test i won't be able to return home on leave and will end up in a hotel in quarantine on my own. Guess the mini bar would get emptied then!

drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/12/30/what-is-left-to-say/

Whether you agree with it or not, this is a very interesting read.

I’m not afraid for myself at all. What I feel more and more strongly is that we are not taking into account the immense costs of lockdown (because they are not necessarily quantifiable and they are not all immediate).

Even the more level headed of the powers that be cannot make these arguments because they will always be drowned out by the ‘people are dying’ brigade.

I also worry (like the author above) that this will be our blueprint for how to deal with future events. That concerns me most really.

Finally, I think this is the death knell for the NHS. Not because of COVID per se, but the economic implications of all these lockdowns will be felt very soon and they will be devastating. The NHS will not survive it (or not in its current form).

I’m not afraid of getting it, only of passing it on to someone and them becoming very ill

Simple flu could kill you. A minor infection could turn into sepsis which might result in death or serious long term consequences like limb amputation. You could have a car accident, or be run over as a pedestrian and be killed or suffer life changing/ limiting injuries. Yet we don't actively worry about those things, certainly not to the extent that people are worrying about Covid.