Can someone make me feel better about the latest news ?

[reallyexhausted]

It just seems so bad right now. Virus more deadly, vaccines might not work against new strains etc.

I am starting to lose all hope this will end.

I was feeling better because of the vaccinations. Now I'm struggling again. How's everyone else feeling ?

But it's just so tough when there are stories about young people every day too. I heard a nurse on TV she was telling a worried 32 year old that he was going to be fine and she said he later died. We don't know if he had conditions but it scared me a lot.

I totally get it

It is why I stopped watching the news and simply listen to the scientific briefings or listen to the scientists give interviews. Even though they often say things which are serious, they do so in a measured and clear way.

The only thing that’s terrifying me is months and months of home schooling. The rest of it I just couldn’t care less.

I worry about getting ill and my baby getting ill. As well as my parents getting ill and not being able to see them for a long time. They live in Europe.

I feel very hopeful about the effects of the vaccine on transmission

It will be fine. They are trying to scare people into behaving to get numbers down (also not a conspiracy nut) January was always going to be the worst month.
Look at all the other pandemics throughout civilisation- without any medicines they all fade away after a couple of years. We have science on our side.

I get it OP so I don't watch the news now. Instead I watch nature - look for the tiny bits of emerging Spring, the days being 5 minutes longer than the one before, the sunshine being 0.5 degree warmer, the first green shoots of bulbs..

the world WILL come out of this, a month from now it'll feel better; 3 months from now it'll feel vastly different,

Head down hibernate till Easter OP! We can't fight it

might...may...could... they are just being honest about the lack of clarity at moment.

Uncertainty does not equal = "worst outcome is likely" !

They have published the info regarding the UK variant:

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/955224/NERVTAG_paper_on_variant_of_concern__VOC__B.1.1.7.pdf

It's worth noting that at the moment, they have been unable to draw conclusions either way regarding whether or not this variant is more deadly. The report alludes to "a realistic possibility" which is far from definitive. I'm actually surprised that Boris led with this, given we don't have any firm conclusions either way.

What's more, it's easy to focus on the words "more deadly" but it's certainly not the case that everyone around us is going to start dropping dead from the virus. The risk of death for most people in most age groups is low, and continues to be low, even if the current findings turn out to be accurate.

The stuff that came out of Israel about one dose not being enough has largely been debunked now, as it included data from those who had the vaccine and caught Covid within 14 days of having the jab. When those people were excluded from the data, the efficacy was more in line with the government's expectations. If you have ever had a flu jab, you will know that vaccines do normally take a couple of weeks to take effect.

It's also worth pointing out that the vaccines we have are very good, better than hoped. And that even if the South African variant does make the vaccine less effective, that does not mean that the vaccines will be totally useless. Anyone who states otherwise at this early stage when there is not enough data to conclude otherwise is lying out of their backside.

Hope that helps.

This is helpful to read.
I have had a little wobble today and I'm usually quite positive and upbeat. I had a 'word with myself', the odds are still in most people's favour, we are lucky that we can effectively hide away and isolate until Spring. Boring but safer. Worrying isnt going to change anything so we may as well enjoy the little things.
The Media has to ramp up the fear factor to ensure compliance. Covid was still around, albeit in lower numbers in summer.

I think the government doesn't want people to relax too early, now that we have the good news about the vaccine. They also are probably not very happy about having such high case numbers and death figures that are now coming in from people catching it a month ago. So I think it's more a case of them changing tactic, to try to get people to be more careful about what's already happening, rather than anything having changed all that dramatically. Even the oldest or most clinically vulnerable people are still more likely to survive than not.

There's only so much we can do - we can keep our family bubble safe, keep distancing and going out as little as possible, but as individuals that's all we can do. And key workers and people who can't afford/aren't allowed time off have no choice at all. So it's okay and normal to feel worried, but there's no point worrying about things that are beyond us, and too big to change. (Easy to say, I know. I still do worry myself sick at times. But it helps to know we shouldn't!)

@NinetyNineRedBalloonsGoBy

That's good tips to look at nature. January is always, even in the happiest years, a grim time, but the days are getting longer and fractionally warmer - and the bulbs are already coming through round these parts. I think even continued lockdown will be a lot more bearable in Spring than it is right now.

Vaccinations are on track! The virus will diminish and just be encorporated into life. Spring and summer are just around the corner. Vaccines can be altered in weeks to fight the new variants if needs be. Once the numbers drop and people get immunity the virus will have less places to go and we will become more immune as are systems become exposed but not affected.

Treatments in 9 months have seen huge improvements, imagine what another year of experience will do. Once we get hospital admissions back under control, vaccinations increase and the weather improves the world will seem much better.

The end of January always sucks! It's just this year we have a huge focus.

Can I just say that posts like this really help people like me who are massively anxious (diagnosed health anxiety). Reading sensible well written facts instead of media scaremongering really really helps talk me down from the panic.

Thank you x

@sleepwouldbenice

Watch the interview with Patrick valance from sky news a couple of days ago. Covers vaccine, variant etc As others say, balanced and measured Science will lead us out of this but there will be stumbles on the way Variant is bad but so far govt seem to have a really got something right with vaccine progress Ignore press, Facebook, politicians Days are getting lighter, bulbs are coming up We are nearly 2/3 of the way through winter hell

Obviously a bit mad to quote myself. But seriously watch the interviews with scientists not the politicians This was always always going to be the worst part, made worse by the variant. It really won’t be easy. Or a straight line But we really are on the home stretch now.

Read the report the lovely poster has attached.

Also it is all mathematical calculations and several research reports give different results. One even thinks the Kent variant is weaker. At the end of the day it is educated guess work. No one knows. What they are actually saying is if it is more dangerous then only by a relatively little amount.

Government have switched from over optimistic over promising and under delivering messaging to a more realistic one where they are managing expectations more accurately. Its likely they will want to under promise and over deliver.

Johnson was criticised on this point.

Also the target date of 15th Feb is gradually slipping. They know how much vaccine they have incoming and we know there are production issues going on. I think we are maybe 2 weeks past 15th Feb for the first 4 priority groups now.

Things are going well. But i think they got carried awaya with optimistic targets too.

It was always going to take a few weeks after mid feb for vaccines to be effective anyway
On the bad news side we have high infection rates, a new variant and lockdown fatigue and a less stringent lockdown
On the upside we have spring and more and more vaccinations coming and other scientific advances fir treatment and testing and we have more COVID secure practices in place than lockdown 1 (not perfect but for example masks on public transport)
It will get better

Thank you everyone for your measured replies and not doom-scaremongering!! It's needed x

It's like Johnson has finally actually listened to the science and they are all now cautious. In previous briefings, more often than not Whitty and Vallance would have to counteract his optimism, but now they are all cautious. It is very hard to hear 'we don't know enough' and 'we need more time' along with 'numbers of deaths will continue to be high' because we want reassurance. We want an end date - and they haven't got one. They don't know.
It is natural to be scared, but actually I find it reassuring in a way that they seem to be telling us that however bad things are now, there are small signs of improvement, because we are getting a real picture of the situation, and although it is hard to take, at least we aren't being given false hope, then having it dashed again.

We have a lot on our side OP, we have the vaccine which is incredible. It will get us out of this far more quickly than we could have hoped for. The scientists I feel are now being properly listened to by the government, which can only be a good thing, because when the weather improves, and enough vaccine has been administered to the right people, they will insist that Johnson doesn't end lockdown too soon and too quickly.
A cautious, measured Johnson is far safer than the gung-ho, "let's have Christmas mixing for five days - it would be inhuman not to" Johnson.

Thanks to everyone posting on this rational, compassionate and measured thread.

When I get anxious I try and remember where I am right now. Right now I am safe, I am well, my children are safe and well, my husband is safe and well. My wider family and friends are safe and well at this moment.

That calms the anxiety and brings me to a point of gratitude.

I found this chart from the zoe app quite encouraging showing the massive drop in the number of new infections. The zoe data generally shows what the ons government data will do in week or so.

@GalesThisMorning and to everyone else who has posted. Thank you so much. It's really measured and pragmatic / not scaremongering but neither overly optimistic.

I was worried about posting and being ripped to shreds. ( I think I've been posting in AIBU too much lately )...

Thanks again. It's not great right now but we have a lot of things on our side ( vaccine, more knowledge of how to treat covid and generally time ). I looked up the list of all pandemics on Wikipedia and they do end.

Things are getting better. Infection rates are plummeting, the vaccine roll out has been fantastic and the weather is getting warmer. We knew this winter would be hard but we are through the worst.

I would take "it may be more deadly" stuff with a pinch of salt when it's from Boris. He has every incentive to try and make excuses for the UK's unusually high death toll.

@justanotherneighinparadise

I think they’re rightly being very cautious. They don’t know!!

I think they're scaremongering. As you say they don't know.