has everyone become too hysterical about Covid?

[tellytubby20]

Looking at all the threads on MN my impression is that everyone has become completely hysterical about Covid and completely misunderstands the difference between personal health risk and public health.

Am not oblivious to the health risks - I have followed all the rules, live next to a major London hospital (so very aware of how busy the ambulance service is) and had covid last year.
BUT
I am also under 40 with small DCs - so am aware that my personal risk of death or severe illness is small - my goal is therefore to ensure that I do not spread it others who are vulnerable.

However, so many people seem to have decided that the threat/risk is massive to their kids and themselves especially with this new variant.....WHY?

AIBU - to think that people are massively over-estimating personal risk if they are healthy and under 50 and have become hysterical about it.

AINBU to think that

Some things people might want to consider
Urgent cancer surgery is being cancelled. This doesn’t usually happen (and that’s not because people are hysterical it is because the hospital doesn’t have the capacity to do it)
The ICUs now at 150% of their normal capacity are not full of the elderly. A lot of them won’t even be getting into them. They are full of the young. Being looked after by less than 50% of the usual staff and likely therefore to be having substandard care (not for the want of trying)
Some beds might be empty because there are no nurses to look after patients BECAUSE THEY HAVE COVID and can’t work
Things which are easily survivable normally in a functioning health care system are NOT survivable if you can’t get an ambulance or can’t get into a hospital or they can’t provide even basic treatment. So the way to deal with that is not to get the disease in the first place because once you have it you don’t know if you are going to be the one that needs oxygen and are too late. Hospital isn’t a magic fix when you enter the door if there is no one to treat you

Hysteria doesn’t help. But an appreciation of reality does. A lot of people are in denial about what could happen if they get ill enough to go to hospital (and that is more than 1% and because a large number of people are getting covid that 1% represents are larger number) MORE people will die as a % than would if there were smaller numbers because they cannot access treatment. This is partly because the NHS had been underfunded but also partly because no healthcare system would have coped particularly with a decent proportion of their staff unavailable.

So wear your fucking masks, stop making excuses. Stop sending your kids to school unless they REALLY have to go. Stop making bubbles just because you can (only do it if you REALLY have to) You might be that person in the hospital as the oxygen fails and dying of a normally treatable disease

And that’s not hysteria. That is having a sensible appreciation of the risks backed up by science and 20 years in the healthcare profession

More people have died of Covid 19 in the UK than died from bombs from the Nazis in WW2. I will be very surprised if the death toll ends up under 100,000. That's even before those who die earlier because they have sought medical help for other conditions later than they would have done (or not sought it at all), more suicides, and any other indirect cause.

Right to be concerned and worried. Pity the government has been late in acting- you can still fly in or out and not have enforced quarantine, for example.

Absolutely. It’s really sad how frightened people are. Lots of very low risk friends are petrified and suggesting they can’t ever again imagine ‘normal life’. I think we are going to need to spend a lot on mental health support post the vaccination programme.

I agree with concerns about NHS teaching overwhelm point now or very soon. That is incredibly worrying and we all need to do our part to ensure it improves rapidly. But that’s not the same as being personally terrified of the germs from the shopping.
I am 100% following the rules. So this is not some anti lockdown sentiment. I am genuinely concerned about friends’ mental health.

I have previously healthy colleagues in hospital or who have been off for months. I think some people are just in a bubble and haven't really seen the effects of COVID

This is the reality of what is happening right now.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55559727

@peaceanddove - very much more likely to die of a car crash due to countless staff isolating because of covid.

I'm in healthcare and it is astounding how people don't grasp that the staff are not usually at risk of the same illness as the people they're treating. There are only so many people to put you back together.

Endless morons keep saying "it's same every year". NHS is under pressure every year, everyone knows that blah blah (well, they've read it anyway).

However, this absolutely isn't the same as any other year - we don't usually have staff being ill, or isolating because they have a positive test etc.... bangs head against desk....

I'm in private sector that has been seconded by NHS to cover cancer services last lockdown and it has now happened again - that's where we're heading with cases up so high again that private sector is still supporting NHS through the pandemic.

The same consultants work across private and NHS - when covid is at such a level there isn't capacity for same A&E provision for normal life to run along as usual.

Everyone says 30 years ago a pandemic -everyone would have just got on with it.

We are living an unprecedented fast style of living - people expect food available at the supermarket, if they're in a car crash - someone to come and take their car away and fix it, to fix them etc.

Our NHS staff will be in situation (and are) of having to choose who lives and dies - you seriously don't think there's any fall out for the staff who've been seconded to covid from other areas to decide "peacenddove's" dc has just arrived at A&E we have to remove support from another person's loved one.

Perhaps we'd point them to this thread and say she thinks it's worth the risk and everyone's making a fuss, so don't lose sleep over making decision over who should live or die, will you.

People say the NHS should just get on and make those decision daily for the next six weeks as numbers creep up, or do we accept we have to slow our lives down so that we have essential services running in the background of our lives. This new variant sounds like it hasn't reached where you live just yet, if you don't know anything about how contagious it is.

Last time we were unable to see people for regular appointments - this time we are trying to diagnose people as well as manage covid, but only same amount of staff to do both things.

but they should be calmly sitting at home watching Netflix.

Seriously though, are you the thought police?

@tellytubby20 how busy is your hospital normally at this time of year ?

@sleepingwhitecat - the ambulance services whizzing past our place are clearly going crazy and it's super busy. But, for example, it got noticeably busier again since 10th December or thereabout - and this was while people were talking about needing to lift restrictions for Xmas - which was clearly a stupid idea.

But then before Xmas - people on MN were totally defending spending time with families, going Xmas shopping etc and now its all lock them down...

cant people just follow the rules without going nuts

On the 1000 deaths today, that is 1000 reported deaths. If you look at the date of death data, it goes back a few weeks

I’m not saying it’s not bad, just that the blanket ‘1000 deaths today’ stat doesn’t quite represent the full picture

....but it's all okay because we can clap on a Thursday again and do PE with Joe

www.hsj.co.uk/acute-care/exclusive-london-will-be-overwhelmed-by-covid-in-a-fortnight-says-leaked-nhs-england-briefing/7029264.article#.X_YvppMR6xM.twitter
Exclusive: London will be overwhelmed by covid in a fortnight says leaked NHS England briefing

London’s hospitals are less than two weeks from being overwhelmed by covid even under the “best” case scenario, according to an official briefing given to the capital’s most senior doctors this afternoon.

NHS England London medical director Vin Diwakar set out the stark analysis to the medical directors of London’s hospital trusts on a Zoom call.

The NHS England presentation, seen by HSJ (see slides below story), showed that even if the number of covid patients grew at the lowest rate considered likely, and measures to manage demand and increase capacity, including open the capital’s Nightingale hospital, were successful, the NHS in London would be short of nearly 2,000 general and acute and intensive care beds by 19 January.

Best case scenario

redtoothbrush - don't think they've heard peaceanddove (above) has a handle on it and will all be ok after all and she's willing to tell staff not to worry who has to come off life support - it's their job...

I wouldn't call it hysterical

I was never particularly worried about getting covid. I wasnt worried about my friends getting covid, or my partner. As we are all young and healthy.

I am however worried about my parents getting it, they arent in an at risk category but it's hard not to entertain the worse thoughts at times, even if it is unlikely they would require hospital. Though luckily my mind is quite rational so it's more of a fleeting worry. A couple of their friends have ended up in hospital (but I dont know if they are vulnerable or not) so it's only natural to worry.

However there are 3 people close to me who if get it they would likely suffer significantly and possibly wouldnt be able to fight it off. Therefore I am doing my bit in making sure this virus doesn't reach them and others like them. And I do get quite passionate about expressing this, I don't think thats hysterical.

@AcornAutumn

The hysteria is off the scale crazy.

This 100%

Have you read the posts above such as the last one by @RedToothBrush, @PufferFishGoneWrong?

Please stop using the gendered insult hysterical about people who are facing reality and take it seriously.

We really are in trouble in London for sure. Hard to believe that only last week 9 London boroughs had to defy the government and advise their primary schools to move to online learning. All the while Gavin Williamson and Boris Johnston insisting there was no need to.

Famous last words but I'm low risk for catching it & likely to survive it.
48yr old white female, no children & live alone, WFH, no need to travel on public transport, only going out the supermarket 1-2 times a week.
The positive test figures in my area, whilst high, are less than 1% of the population so there are far more people around WITHOUT Covid than with.
However I'm concerned about the NHS capacity & their ability to cope. The fact that cancer operations are being cancelled is alarming although not entirely unexpected.
I also worry about my extended family members, both young & old. There have been unexpected deaths on all sides in the 2 years prior to March 2020 & they're still grieving whilst dealing with pandemic, job losses, homeschooling.
But there's no hysteria about catching Covid or having Covid amongst my family, friends & neighbours, only resignation.
The hysteria I see is the media/social media.

I cannot believe there are still threads like this.
I really can't.

I've said every day at work since before Christmas ' that's the worst day I've ever had there" but nope the next day comes along and is even worse.
I'm not sure how much worse it can get.

It is truly frightening.

I'm in my 40s and was seriously ill in March with Covid. I'm not hysterical but like fuck do I want to get that I'll again. I'm still not 100%

Absolutely. We're talking about a virus that for most people who get it will be fine. But to a degree, I get it - the government and their lies and propaganda, and the media feeding the hysteria for advertising revenue...I can understand that some people have got hysterical about it.

Mumsnet has become like the Daily Mail with its scaremongering, over exaggeration and twisting.

This absolutely isn't the same as any other year

I believe you, Fizzydrinks - I really do - but at the same time I understand what hearing this every single year has done to some perceptions, and how it's sometimes seen as a "boy who cried wolf" thing

That doesn't make it right of course, but if we ever get through this maybe there are some lessons for the future here too?