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

@bumbleymummy for the sake of transparency , it would be good if you could clarify whether you advocate natural herd immunity, on the basis of your views on vaccination. Because if so, that may shape some of your opinions on this.

I do understand that the government want to exaggerate the doom and gloom in order to keep us scared, and therefore compliant.

But I do wish the media could also show some more positive stories (the many, many 80+ year olds who have successfully recovered, for example). And interview some experts with a more positive outlook. Listened to an epidemiological specialist on Radio 4 who was so refreshingly upbeat, albeit still cautious. For a few minutes I thought I'd tuned into a different universe!

@Gwenhwyfar

"Many other Northern European countries don't find it necessary to have a travel ban within their borders where there is a requirement for no more than 2 persons to be outside or bubble together outwith households.

Many other Northern European countries have a far lower rate if covid, a lower positivity rate, don't have many cases if this new high transmission variant and definitely have a much higher bed to patient ratio (and associated staffing levels).

But yeah other than that its a brilliant comparison."

Belgium was no.1 at one point so is definitely comparable. There is no travel restriction within the country, though there was advice not to visit a particular tourist spot after too many people did. Four people can meet outside. Single people can visit two friends inside, but only one at a time. Shops were closed for a while but are back open now as are museums and swimming pools, the latter two being appointment only. Pubs and cafes have been closed for a few months, but the right to see four people outside helps a bit to make up for that.

It's actually quite difficult to find out what's happening in other countries unless you have friends living there. So thanks for clarifying what the rules are in Belgium. I know there are no internal travel restrictions on Holland, Switzerland and Denmark too.

So I fi d the UK one unusually onerous. For lockdowns to work long term, they surely need to be sustainable. Banning people from going outside their own homes and having police quizz people on the purpose of their trip to the supermarket really makes people miserable in an already miserable time. And it is likely to be for the next 3 months, because thats how long Parliament gave assent to the Regulations for.

3 months in which you are not allowed to visit, in your own transport with your support bubble, a nice park or forest 25 miles from your home. You can't enjoy the mountains - sm is full of people being criticised for going to the Lake District or a national park. Yet you can do this within other countries. My Swiss friends have gone to their holiday home for a week. My Dutch friends went to Groenlo for 4 days. Because they need a holiday and can still follow the rules while doing so. Within their own country's borders.

Why is the UK so ridiculously strict? 3 months of this. Why not make a rule that you must carry enough fuel and provisions for any trip and cannot use local shops?

People in Britain seem to hate anyone with a holiday home, anyone on holiday, anyone who has a day trip, anyone out walking a dog, or running and cycling, pick your category. Anyone with a slight difference of opinion on the rules is accused of being evil incarnate, or saying covid is the same as flu when they didnt.

So yes, I think there is a lot of hysteria about this, and hysteria never cured anything. Why not stay calm and rational instead?

@peaceanddove

I do understand that the government want to exaggerate the doom and gloom in order to keep us scared, and therefore compliant.

But I do wish the media could also show some more positive stories (the many, many 80+ year olds who have successfully recovered, for example). And interview some experts with a more positive outlook. Listened to an epidemiological specialist on Radio 4 who was so refreshingly upbeat, albeit still cautious. For a few minutes I thought I'd tuned into a different universe!

Oh yes, absolutely, the government and the media here definately want to scare people. If they have the average age of death and recovery figures along the daily deaths on the news that would help a lot of people's mental health. I know 2 men who have committed suicide during previous lockdiwns. Both were runners with depression who relied heavily on their regular running groups for routine and support. I read about a schoolboy who committed suicide because he couldn't cope with lockdown stress.

Just today I've read about the police turning up at the door of two widowed 80+ neighbours. One was recently widowed and had suffered a fall and the other and continued to check in on her in the past few weeks. One of the other neighbours reported them to the police and the police turned up at their doors.

My views on vaccination? That I don’t agree with it being compulsory? I’m not sure what that has to do with this conversation tbh.

Herd immunity will be achieved through a combination of natural infection and vaccination. I think it makes sense to vaccinate the more vulnerable groups first because they are more likely to end up in hospital and this will take the pressure of the health services. The less vulnerable groups are more likely to have mild/asymptomatic infections which is why I think people are being a bit hysterical when they go on about having to stay in lockdown until 80% of people have been vaccinated etc.

but how do you get herd immunity with a virus that you keep on getting reinfected with?

@bumbleymummy oh come on, you have a long history of 'vaccine scepticism' on mumsnet and that's being polite.

"Why is the UK so ridiculously strict? 3 months of this. Why not make a rule that you must carry enough fuel and provisions for any trip and cannot use local shops?"

I think partially because they were too late locking down. While the lockdown in Belgium is now softer, remember that pubs, restaurants and cafes have been closed for a while, since October I think.
And then there is the new variant. It already exists in Belgium, but is not dominant in any region.
I suppose also that the country is smaller, but even foreign travel has not been banned, only advised against. As always happens with restrictions, people try to get around them. People are going - legally - to France to get their hair cut and - illegally - having hairdressers come to their home working under the table.
There's also no quarantine between Belgium and neighbouring continental countries if the trip is under 48 hours so when shops were closed here people went shopping in the Netherlands.

@donewithitnow

but how do you get herd immunity with a virus that you keep on getting reinfected with?

There are not many instances of people being re-infected.

@RedToothBrush

And the rate of the new variant in Belgium is?

It has been detected in Belgium but is not the dominant variant, as I think is the case in the Uk outside the south east.

@donewithitnow

but how do you get herd immunity with a virus that you keep on getting reinfected with?

There are very few cases of reinfection so far but yes, immunity will probably wane over time. I think an annual booster will be required for the more vulnerable groups - like they do with the flu vaccine. Perhaps they’ll offer them together? That might increase the uptake of the flu vaccine too 😊

@GwendolineMarysLaces actually I have a long history of being called ‘anti-vaxx’ on MN because I don’t think they should be compulsory/, think that the single measles jab should have been kept available on the NHS while there was all the controversy over the MMR/ think that the chickenpox vaccine shouldn’t be added to the MMR (but should potentially be offered to teens who haven’t had cp because the risks increase with age)/ have pointed out that immunity from the mumps vaccine wanes and think that it might make more sense to offer it to teens when it’s more of a risk and when they’re more likely to be heading off to uni etc. None of these are actually anti-vaxx (they all actually involve giving vaccines!) but MN can be a funny old place sometimes and some people think that anyone who questions anything about the current vaccine schedule must be anti-vaxx. 😊 Hope that clears things up for you!

I've only seen people express extreme concern about covid online. I work in a retail food shop and everyone wears a mask and does their best to social distance but your work colleagues feel like a second family and there's no fretting. We obviously take the risk seriously (many were shielding during lockdown) but no one is doom and gloom about it.

I've took part in a government trail just before Christmas designed to detect if participants have CV19 antibodies. Its come back positive which means I've had it, but haven't had a day sick since the start of the first lockdown. So I've been asymptotic and my immune system handled it.

I wish that these tests were more widely available so that people could see if they've already had Covid or not. It might help people to separate out the personal risk stuff (low for most people) from the public health risk (high at the moment because we're in the early stages of the vaccine roll out).

Although knowing won't allow people to change their day to day activities at this stage, it may help some people to feel less anxious about their own personal health risk.

Heres the link to apply to be on the trial in case anyone is interested: www.gov.uk/register-coronavirus-antibody-test

[quote Hotcuppatea]Heres the link to apply to be on the trial in case anyone is interested: www.gov.uk/register-coronavirus-antibody-test[/quote]
Thanks @Hotcuppatea