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

@tellytubby20 I just don’t get it. But I’m glad you asked.

The world has gone insane.

100% agree

So YADNBU

No, not everyone. Plenty of people aren’t hysterical, it’s just that the hysterical people are going to make a lot more noise about it...

YANBU - totally agree. I feel like I spend my whole time debunking friends and families hysterical covid conspiracy theories... I don't know where they're all getting their news from but I feel like the internet and FB has lot to answer for, so much alarmist misinformation being spread.
Also I feel like no one has a basic grasp of history or how vaccines work.
It drives me mad.
Yes - this is awful, No - its not the worst thing to happen ever, and in the grand scheme of pandemics throughout history this one is much less dangerous than many before it - thanks a lot to modern medicine.
The risk to children remains incredibly low (thank god), I feel a lot of people have lost sight of the fact that whilst these lockdowns are vital to protect older & vulnerable people and the NHS, there outlook for younger people who catch covid is still pretty good - compared to diseases we already live with, such as meningitis for instance.

just to clarify - i am absolutely in favour of the lockdown. I think we should have lockeddown in February.

The reason for this post for example - is that many of the education boards and some of my friends are absolutely terrified for their kids when they don't need to be. They are worried about covid but not the fact that their stress regarding this virus will be the biggest impact on their kids and will be detrimental.

They also rush to supermarkets every time there is an announcement thus a)creating temporary shortages for those that need stuff b) create superspreader events. I live opposite a major supermarket and witness this literally everytime Boris is on TV.

People are demanding that things are shut even though certain risks/conditions outweigh the probabilities.

They are histerical and demand that restrictions were to be lifted for Xmas even though the virus doesnt care - because they dont get the idea that societal risk will increase.

I also care because this government doesnt follow science but public sentiment - policies stop and start depending on the mood of the nation and mumsnet does in some ways funciton as a mechanism for assessing it. Therefore if the public are hysterical this is what will in part drive policy rather than societal/public health concerns.

I don't know about people's perception of risk. Clearly there is a greater risk with the new variant.

What I have noticed is the amount of emotional energy poured out on MN about the politics when it's patently useless to get worked up about that.

We are where we are, regardless.

I don't fully get the emotional outbursts along the lines of 'not being able to go on'.

We are the first generation not to live through a world war. They went on for 4-6 years and was far, far worse.

Most people I talk to- especially the elderly- have a 'crack on' attitude and the proverbial stiff upper lip.

What worries me is on MN there appear to be a lot of people with few emotional reserves.

@Watchingbehindmyhands - and i do know vulnerable people - we have two sets of very vulnerable grandparents. The way in which we manage their care is therefore different from ours. E.g. one set hasnt seen DGC since the summer because the risk isnt worth it. The other set are only allowed to see them outside. I have tried to enforce shielding on them because frankly if two of them got it - chances are they will die - so yeah they are not allowed to just run around disregarding risks. But it's differentiated risk - between them, us in our 40s and the little kids.....

I think it's mainly on MN I've seen real fear of people getting it themselves, when they're in the young/healthy/fit categories. Although when I had COVID, it was only a headache, but I had family acting as though I'd been diagnosed with a life threatening illness sending me flowers, cards etc. When I had flu a couple of years ago I was really very poorly, but no one batted an eyelid!

The people I know that are extreemly worried about their personal risk are:-

Aged 27, Asthmatic, Male, Many admissions in the past for hypoxia following asthma attack

Aged 56, 4 stone overweight, female, smoker

Aged 25, Blood clotting issues, family history of pulmonary embolism and thrombosis, plus compromised immune system, - female - Frontline worker with no PPE

Aged 32 - BMI 35 - Male - Frontline worker, Ex Smoker, but vaper

Out of those people above (all genuine) do any of them have a real reason to be concerned about their personal risk?

Agree OP and this is coming from a patient facing NHS worker, I follow the guidance but I’m not going to get hysterical over things and be all sanctimonious about people being, well people.

I’m more worried about how the NHS will survive after this once a lot of people are unemployed and those taxes start falling but a lot of people can’t see past covid at the minute.

I’ve been in Both a serious road accident which broke several bones and required blood transfusion and have also had serious pneumonia which requires HDU and left scarring on my lungs, I was very ill for at least a year but I’m not afraid of covid mainly because I am still young and healthy so the odds are in my favour anyway and because I prefer to look at the glass half full, research my own stuff instead of taking news and headlines as gospel and because life is just too short

Plus there will be worse pandemics then this one no doubt, one that will probably kill all ages, then people can be hysterical. Of course we will still be paying this one off so no furlough and no staying at home cause all the money went on covid

It's not just mumsnet, my local corona group is full of people are obsessed with 'putting my family first' and 'keeping our kids safe' in my mind putting children first means sending them to school, but what do I know.

just to clarify - i am absolutely in favour of the lockdown. I think we should have locked down in February

but would it have helped? We went down to very low figures over the summer and look where we are now. And that's with a semi-lockdown, no mass gatherings, etc. I have to say I am really beginning to question whether lockdown is the answer (though I definitely don't know what the right answer is!)

@tellytubby20 I agree with some but not all of your post above.

The government has to tread a very fine line between keeping us safe and risking non-compliance. There is also a difference of opinion between different departments - the Treasury for example and Health.
It can take days to thrash this out and then the scientists can't agree either- every expert has a different opinion !

Each time there are new restrictions, MN is full of people who say they will ignore them and carry on.

The government will have done the stats with behavioural psychologists on if they introduce X rules, what % of people will not comply, resulting in Y cases.

There comes a tipping point when lockdowns are needed - like now- but there will still be people ignoring rules- I could tell you of some which involve the elderly and the young.

A draconian lockdown like they had in China has to be enforced with the military or severe punishments. In a democracy people would push back against it.

The government knows it has to have the public on-side to win this battle.

And in any case, all politics is run on the basis of winning elections based on public opinion and 'wants'. The government always responds to the public, never the other way round.

And the 56 year old above can stop smoking and lose weight and will instantly reduce her risk by a very significant amount.

[quote tellytubby20]@Watchingbehindmyhands - and i do know vulnerable people - we have two sets of very vulnerable grandparents. The way in which we manage their care is therefore different from ours. E.g. one set hasnt seen DGC since the summer because the risk isnt worth it. The other set are only allowed to see them outside. I have tried to enforce shielding on them because frankly if two of them got it - chances are they will die - so yeah they are not allowed to just run around disregarding risks. But it's differentiated risk - between them, us in our 40s and the little kids.....[/quote]
That all makes sense from a personal risk point of view. But ignores the fact that any of those people - elderly, 40s, or children - can carry this virus to other people.

@annevonkleve

just to clarify - i am absolutely in favour of the lockdown. I think we should have locked down in February

but would it have helped? We went down to very low figures over the summer and look where we are now. And that's with a semi-lockdown, no mass gatherings, etc. I have to say I am really beginning to question whether lockdown is the answer (though I definitely don't know what the right answer is!)

Lockdown is the answer at the moment so that beds are free for people with OTHER illnesses to be treated as well.

It's a temporary measure to get the numbers down while the vaccine is rolled out.

If you listened to Whitty yesterday this was explained clearly.
Covid will never go away BUT what he said was that there will in time be a level of risk which is small enough to be acceptable (he quoted flu deaths which can be 70K a year in a bad year) which people will accept if it means they can have their freedom back.

Listen again on iPlayer if you missed it.

unherd.com/2021/01/inside-the-covid-ward/

I corner the ICU doctor, who happens to be reviewing another patient on the ward at the same time, asking him to have a glance at my patient. He agrees that he will likely need an intensive care bed at some stage, but at the moment they simply don’t have one. I worry that my patient is going to end up with an emergency intubation, much more dangerous than a controlled one in ICU.

and

We have several patients who are not “fit” for ICU in the current climate. Before Covid, they most likely would have been given a chance, but not now. When we think that these patients have suffered enough, and are unlikely to ever recover, we start talking about making them comfortable. It’s partly that we need the beds for patients with a better chance, and partly that we feel it is cruel to keep these people suffering when their chances of survival are slim. It’s difficult to work out which of those is your true motivation.

The most distressing part of their struggle is the air hunger. You can spot these patients easily, as they grasp the masks to their faces with both hands and gasp visibly for air.

and

Towards the end of the day, two of my patients are deteriorating and destined for the ICU. Another doctor had an ICU candidate in her bay. They are all between 60 and 64 years old, none of them with significant comorbidities; all were working full time until coronavirus struck. They all now require 80% oxygen at high pressures, breathing at around 50 breaths per minute and tiring. There is only one ICU bed. I leave before the decision is made as to which of them will get the bed. I am sure that whoever doesn’t get it is likely to deteriorate overnight.

We have not hit the peak yet.

i haven't read the thread!

i'm a retail manager and so so many colleagues are on their knees with mental health problems. its quite scary

having to support everyone from age 16 to mid 50's is hard work....and takes its toll on me too. then our customers....what can i say? they are mostly lovely and understanding, but more and more are becoming complacent and complaining if we so much as step away from them to give us 2 metres space.

watching them swan out with a cushion and a pot plant does nothing to help the 'essential items' case either

Mumsnet is absolutely ridiculous about Coronavirus. It has been since all of this began.

The doom mongering, the judging, the untruths.

I say this as someone who has followed all guidelines, rules, laws.

I feel as though some people thrive on the drama, they're quite gleeful to have something to froth at the mouth over.

Now we are in this crisis again they're all climbed out of the woodwork again.

I really should avoid mumsnet, I stayed off for a while and my sanity improved greatly.

@RedToothBrush think you’ve proved the ops point: hysterical and scaremongering

@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

Yes, I do ageee that some people don’t fully know that the public risk is not the same as their own health risk, however not everyone is under 50 and healthy. So we can’t just come out of lockdowns for those that are 50 amd under with no underlying health conditions. My risk, my family’s and even my parent’s risk is small, however that’s not the reason we are locked down though is it? Did you watch the briefing yesterday where the number of hospitalisation cases was shared? It was a huge increase compared to wave one. This suggests to me that it may not be a deadly disease for the young and healthy, however I don’t fancy being hospitalised with it, even if I wasn’t to die because my risk is very low, I don’t want to overwhelm and cause the collapse of the nhs. The current situation with the nhs and the rate of hospitalisations even in the young and healthy is the reason we are locking down.

@DuchessofDerbyshire

I don't know about people's perception of risk. Clearly there is a greater risk with the new variant.

What I have noticed is the amount of emotional energy poured out on MN about the politics when it's patently useless to get worked up about that.

We are where we are, regardless.

I don't fully get the emotional outbursts along the lines of 'not being able to go on'.

We are the first generation not to live through a world war. They went on for 4-6 years and was far, far worse.

Most people I talk to- especially the elderly- have a 'crack on' attitude and the proverbial stiff upper lip.

What worries me is on MN there appear to be a lot of people with few emotional reserves.

I think this is such a good point about emotional reserves. I feel like a lot of my friends (who are all 30 or under & have secure jobs and living situations), just wind themselves up for no good reason.

We are undeniably in a psychologically stressful period - and some truly are bearing a huge burden, but I worry about how badly equipped a lot of my generation are to handle anxiety and uncertainty.

I really feel for the people who are in dire straits financially though, and can see how they must be wondering how they can go on through more lockdowns, business' closures and bad news.

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?

The risk isn't necessarily to me.

If we get the virus and are assymptomatic, how many people do we pass it on to? Its not the first degree people who get it from us. Its the chain of people from us onwards.

Thats grows exponentially.

My parents live in the same community. If there is an exponential growth within my community that puts them at risk. We have a number of people in the local community who we respect who are older who we are friends with one way or another.

Its not just about me. Its about how there is a chain of events following my actions.

The more families who stay home, the less potential hosts there are for the virus. Thats less exponential growth.

And thats the thing that ultimately matters. Not the risk to me, DH and DS directly.

Whats telling is how its all gradually descending now into an 'every man for himself' mentality. And fears over exponential growth and community responsibility are labelled as 'hysteria'.

Its not. Its understanding the nature of the problem.

[quote RedMarauder]@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.[/quote]
Not to mention it's now a week later & exponential growth. Those beds will now be full, along with standing ambulances.

That's including taking non Covid patients to hospitals hours away, which will no longer be an option as they are full too.