It's not going to get better for a long time, is it?

[MagicSummer]

After such uplifting news about the Oxford vaccine last week and the proposed 2 Million per week vaccinations, I was feeling a bit optimistic last week. I am in Group 5 so according to the calculator can expect to get the jab in late February. However, today's news is so bad, I feel extremely despondent today. I feel there is absolutely no way we will be back to a more 'normal' life this side of late summer. It makes you want to cry!

Months. It will get better in a few months.

Everyone under 50 is going to be thrown under a bus by April or so when the most vulnerable have been vaccinated and the restrictions will be relaxed.

There’s no point lifting restrictions until a large majority of people have have vaccinated

Now there’s the Oxford vaccine abs they can store it better, they can now do mass vaccination without the need for travel.

Care homes, hospitals, large work places

The sooner the better

Spring isn't far away, throw yourself into a hobby, redecorate maybe, de-clutter, get some good books and focus on getting through this week by week till it's a bit better.
I'm also feeling a bit flat today and am having to make myself get on, think I'm going to look for something good to watch or read instead of watching the headlines!

Jan and Feb are always cold dreary months so that’s what is keeping me going. I’ve switched off the news as it’s making me anxious. I’m still working but have three kids at home (two have Sen - youngest has complex special needs) so I’m bracing myself. I just keep thinking it will get better. Try and find the joy where you can - which I know at the moment is difficult.

What news today has made you feel so despondent?

@viccat

Everyone under 50 is going to be thrown under a bus by April or so when the most vulnerable have been vaccinated and the restrictions will be relaxed.

Why will we be thrown under a bus? I’m in this group and will be very happy when restrictions are relaxed, even if I’ve not yet had the vaccine yet. Under 50s with no vulnerable health conditions are not at much risk from the virus. I’m prepared to take my chances for a normal life!

@CodenameVillanelle

What news today has made you feel so despondent?

The general gloom and doom regarding the new UK strain and the huge swathes of people it seems to infect every day, and the worrying news about the South Africa strain which might not be controlled by the vaccine. Also my local area has seen a huge increase in cases - far more than we ever had in March/April/May.

@viccat

Everyone under 50 is going to be thrown under a bus by April or so when the most vulnerable have been vaccinated and the restrictions will be relaxed.

Unless they have specific health conditions, those under 50 are at very low risk from the virus, so it would be ridiculous to continue to destroy the economy to 'protect' them.

Any who wish to are free to lock themselves up as long as they see fit, but they can't ask society to put itself on hold indefinitely.

It will be better by May I am very sure of that

I think it's a mix of uncertainty and lack of decision from the government and constant changes that is making it all worse. Think it will start to get better in April only 3 months to go.......

When the vaccine was announced weeks back I really thought we had turned a corner. But here we are the first week of 2021 and back in lockdown, schools closed, figures worse than ever. There just seems no end in sight :(

It would help massively if we had an end date to look forward to, even if that date was months away. I know that's impossible, it's just getting so hard to stay positive.

I am feeling the strain this week too. This seems relentless.

“ Spring isn't far away, throw yourself into a hobby, redecorate maybe, de-clutter, get some good books and focus on getting through this week by week till it's a bit better.”

Haha there speaks someone who isn’t entertaining preschoolers all day

The world has to learn to live with the virus in my opinion.

@viccat

Everyone under 50 is going to be thrown under a bus by April or so when the most vulnerable have been vaccinated and the restrictions will be relaxed.

I'm worried about this too but I'm hoping restrictions will to be eased very slowly to see what impact each relaxation has on hospitalisations and then deaths. If the virus is allowed to spread freely among the unvaccinated it would lead to the NHS being overwhelmed very quickly. At the moment there may be less hospitalisations for under 50s but when millions get infected in a short space of time it'll be a different story.

On the other hand the govt will probably go 'Right, under 50s vaccinated, get back on public transport, into the office e.t.c...'.

The vaccine will mean that the disease is almost always only mild even in the vulnerable and the elderly - something already true for healthy people under 50.

So by the time the first batch of priorities have been done, the prospect for relaxing restrictions changes enormously

I’m priority 4, and the updated calculator puts me between March and May (previously Jan to Feb)

I meant 'over 50s vaccinated' above!!!

Yes, I’d really like to know if we’re looking at some sort of normality in April time...or if it’s looking more like August onwards. The endlessness of it all is soul destroying.

On the other hand the govt will probably go 'Right, under 50s vaccinated, get back on public transport, into the office e.t.c...'.

I bloodly hope so!

Despite all the posts on MN about marathon runners in their early 40s getting a severe case, it is mostly a mild illness in those under 50. These risks have to be balanced with the severe risks to the economy and society if lockdown is to persist until everyone is vaccinated.

What is group 5 and priority 4? How does one know what group they are in? Dr's surgery unable/unwilling to comment on anything regarding when shots will be available and for whom.

Sadly, I'm inclined to agree with you, OP. I think we're going to be chasing our tails and playing catchup with this damned virus for years, maybe indefinitely.

It needs human hosts in order to proliferate, so it's going to be constantly mutating in order to increase its chances. We'll inevitably always be a step behind it but hopefully as years pass there will be new ways of dealing with it, new vaccines, new treatments etc.

The priority groups are published by the government

1. care home residents and staff
2. over 80s and NHS key staff
3. over 75s
4. CEV (shielding letter)) and over 70s
5. over 65s
6. CV vulnerable age 16-64 (defined in table 3 of MHRA notes)
7. over 60s
8. over 55s
9. over 50s

Whether you fall into any of those groups should be pretty clear, but if you’re not sure how well you fit definitions for priority 6, it might be worth starting with your GP