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

I know what you mean. Most people I know in real life are pretty much following the rules due to ‘public health’. They aren’t themselves at any great risk.

I’m not at high risk but I’m aware that in certain circumstances it’s highly transmissible.

A friend is more ott worried despite her and her partner not being high risk or being in contact with anyone high risk.

People going on about their childrens lives being ruined, being at the depths of despair....I'm at the depths of despair listening to their whinging and hysteria!

[quote hamstersarse]@PurpleDaisies

It is totally hysterical to be posting the classic "And it doesn’t just impact the elderly"

What would be less hysterical would be to understand that life contains risk. Even though I am not elderly, I could snap my ankle when I go out for a run later and end up injured for life, I could burn and permanently scar my face when cooking dinner later, I could trip down the stairs later and get permanent brain damage, I could get burglared tonight and they attack me with a metal bar....

These are just life facts. I don't expect none of them will happen, I don't expect any of them will particularly.

I had something called Guardia a few years ago - a parasitic infection. The 'Long Guardia' lasted about a year - gastro problems. So what? We have never been guaranteed a problem free life anywhere that I have seen? Maybe I missed the memo

It is hysterical to be pointing out the long covid argument without context of other risks in life.[/quote]
Any of those things could indeed happen. To you. But them happening to you wouldn’t then lead to them happening to the last 3ish people you were in contact with (the likely R number for the present virus without preventative measures), and the last similar number of people each of them were in contact with. Which is why it’s a completely false equivalence.This is a transmissible illness. Responses have to be at a societal level because that’s where the risk is. Your personal risk matters to you, but it can’t be the driver for societal level responses.

Because we care about not spreading it to vulnerable people. Why in the name of christ is that so hard to understand? Why have so many people had an empathy bypass. We are a society. While it's natural to put yourself first, almost everything we have in life comes from being part of a strong society. If we don't care about society, ultimately our own lives become exponentially worse. So even if you don't naturally care about others, it's still in your own best interests to act as if you do.

Two friends both in their 30’s with no underlying health conditions are currently in hospital with the new strain of Covid. One admitted by ambulance and one took himself there have a call with his GP.

I don’t think there are any grounds for complacency just because you are young

i saw a thread abut it killing their kids ad how dare they be used like guinea pigs

for what? how many children have actually died-i know the biggest spread was from children but theyre not dropping dead

I agree with you about the young “hysterical” people who only care about their own health being over the top.
People who realise that spreading the virus is bad and we need to take precautions for now, are not being hysterical.

@hamstersarse you are aware that hospitals can only fill beds if they have the staff numbers to go with them?

I knew this from a teenager as I have family members who worked on intensive care wards.

Social media and 24 hour news also does not help. Can you imagine if this had happened say 20 years ago. You wouldn’t have a phone pinging with breaking news, Facebook rants etc, what’s app messages. We don’t switch off from it and that adds to the anxiety.

"But what if I told you there were 1056 unoccupied hospital beds in London"

I don't think people should panic unnecessarily, but it's great for people to know the seriousness of the situation. Are those 1056 beds part of the beds assigned to covid related cases? Otherwise, how many empty beds in other part of the hospital doesn't make much difference in the crisis, imo.

I’m not saying we don’t need to follow rules I should add, but just that the 24 hr news cycle adds toy he hysteria

Because we care about not spreading it to vulnerable people. Why in the name of christ is that so hard to understand?

You are asking why it’s hard to understand. But you haven’t understood the OP at all.

Could not agree more. The risk is so very small to most people. All proportion was lost months ago.

I don't know anyone under 50 without existing conditions who's hysterical about this. There have been a couple of people on MN who suffer from anxiety anyway, but otherwise I just haven't seen it.
I also know of people in their 60s and 70s who aren't worried even though maybe they should be!
And the number of people breaking the rules shows you that most people aren't worried for themselves.

YANBU, obviously.

The risks from covid to healthy people under 50 are negligible.

BUT

The risks to the elderly and vulnerable of any age are very serious, and because the vast majority of those vulnerable people have no immunity the disease would inevitably rip through the population if we didn’t try to stop it. This would quickly cause any healthcare system to be completely overwhelmed, meaning that there would not be enough capacity, beds, treatments or staff to look after the sick and hundreds of thousands would die. Which is why we are in this awful situation. If anyone still hasn’t understood this, I wonder where they have been for the past ten months.

my other concern is that once some people will become vaccinated they will give up following the rules....because they have satisfied their personal risk.

We dont know yet whether the vaccine prevents transmission or just reduced mortality - so if people are following the rules for public health concerns then they understand that we wear masks for others, just because you have had the vaccine doesnt mean that you need to stop following the rules etc. But if it's all about personal risk then so long as you are safe , you dont care about others

Not worried about my personal risk of catching Covid. I know the chances are I'd be completely fine even with my slightly high BMI. Though i am worried sick about beloved family members who are over 60 or have underlying health conditions catching it and dying.

Also very worried about the state of the NHS and myself or a loved one falling ill with a serious illness and not being able to receive treatment as hospitals are full of Covid patients.

the hysteria, bile and lack of empathy on mumsnet is not at all representative of real life.

It would be good if they could just stick to the coronavirus topic which can be easily hidden.

@Pillowcase123

Nope, hospitals are getting very close to full and 75,000 people have died.

Following the rules is not hysterical.

Many people have serious health conditions and catch c19 in hospital whilst being treated for other illnesses. How many of those were young and/or without health issues? You’re counted as a c19 death statistic if you die within 28 days of testing positive so c19 might not even be the cause of death. The NHS is overwhelmed every single winter if you check out news reports from other years.

MN and social media is full of hysterical people. The vast majority won’t get seriously ill and we need to get on with our lives. People are committing or contemplating suicide due to feeling isolated and losing their job and home. Children and young people are missing out on their education. Many people are missing out on medical treatment as GP surgeries are shut and face to face appointments in GP surgeries and hospitals are cancelled.

The vaccine will benefit vulnerable people as it’s supposed to reduce the effects of c19. However, it doesn’t prevent transmission or us catching c19 so for the vast majority it isn’t essential.

I simply cannot get even a teeny bit hysterical about a virus which has a recovery rate of over 98%. I just can't.

The overwhelming majority of people dying from it are over 80. The rough, average age of dying in the UK is 82. I have to roll my eyes (a bit) at all the 85 years+ being top of the list for vaccinations.

If Covid had happened 30+ years ago, before social media and before 24 hour news, it would have just been remarked on in medical journals as a really bad flu year, where a lot more than usual VERY elderly people died. And that would have been the end of story.

IMO an awful lot of people are vicariously enjoying the thrill and the drama of it all. Pathetic and very destructive.

One in every fifty people is now has COVID and even of you’re fit and healthy if you get it you have no idea how your body will react to the virus. I can totally understand why people are being extra cautious.

It would be good if they could just stick to the coronavirus topic which can be easily hidden.

Including threads like this.

@SoupDragon I take your point. I posted in AIBU to reach out to people not specifically looking at hysterical coronovirus threads. But fair point

I don't know, op. In real life a lot of people are completely unbothered about it and think they are invincible; others are very careful, keeping to the restrictions, but not overly upset. I have noticed some are worried about their adult children who have children but they try not to make too much of it so as not to disturb their children too much.

On MN and probably on other places, people do express their deepest fears and offload problems which they cannot do in real life. That is a safety valve and no bad thing.

My impression from reading loads of threads on here even if I do not post on them is that MNers are splendid in how they are dealing with this pandemic, especially those with school age children, in very difficult circumstances.

Please may it be under control soon!

Plus, too many people have a sheep mentality and actually find being dictated to rather comforting. They like following rules and regulations to the letter. It makes them feel secure. An added bonus is if they can award themselves a sense of moral superiority in doing so. And the cherry on the cake is when they can get to dictate to and hector others for not doing the same. After a (probable) life of being a little person, it makes them feel bigger and more important.