It’s never going to end is it?

[Pink98]

The legislation has been extended to give local councils lockdown powers until the 17th of July ???

Why on Earth ?? If the vaccine works... why will we need to be locked down in the summer ?

Are we just going to be trapped forever

I feel so miserable

It’s so hard isn’t it but I really do think we’ll get there and I say that as someone who has taken it all very seriously. Most pandemics last for a couple of years. The new strain has caused a bit of an issue but we have a vaccination. It’ll likely take until Autumn (ish) to get all adults vaccinated. Bearing in mind that children won’t be vaccinated and lots of people will choose not to be vaccinated restrictions are likely to be needed until the end of the vaccination programme, as those who will some of the last to get their vaccinations are younger people who often need to go to work, have children at school etc so if the restrictions were lifted without the younger part of the population being vaccinated It would rip though those age groups and while many would be fairly mildly effected, many would be left with lasting long Covid issues and some would become seriously ill and die. By keeping restrictions in place until everyone is vaccinated it helps to reduce the spread significantly which keeps community transmission lower and helps to protect those who haven’t, can’t or won’t be vaccinated. It feels very hard and I sometimes worry we’ll never get back to normal but it’s not beneficial for anyone to have restrictions in place for longer than needed. If we can get cases really low, get everyone vaccinated and then reduce restrictions we should hopefully then be able to keep a better track of cases like countries such as Australia and New Zealand who are living fairly normally. Not lifting restrictions too soon gives us a much better chance of normality. Hang on in there.

They've really ramped up the vaccine program and we should be able to get most of the vaunerable vaccinated by June. Feeling fed up but positive.

@JellyBabiesFan

If the SA variant is not covered by the vaccine what is the exit strategy? ok vaccines can be updated but then what about the next strain and the next one?

Hopefully it will mutate to weaker to be honest my friend took his own life Thursday and one the week before so I am actually more worried about that ... the new pandemic will be mental health ... if this is the last lockdown then if it is July so be it ... We have been promised time and time again by the government I am past caring but I am lucky I have a job I would not be if I worked in hospitality and other sectors I feel so bad for them and for those still bitching about the vaccine ... the one thing the government is doing right is the vaccine for nearly 70 million people .. Israel have nearly 9 million !!!

@BonnieDundee

"Three weeks to flatten the curve"

We need to flatten it on the x axis not the y axis

@TheKeatingFive

This is no way for our society to be

Keep people away from their family and friends long enough and that’s what happens. 🤷‍♀️

I’m not talking about massive parties necessarily. But seeing family members and friends.

If this is still going on in the summer I will be seeing my family (obviously providing they are happy). They will have been vaccinated although it's unlikely I will but from my point of view I'm willing to take the chance.

I don't think it will end, I'm really struggling

It will end, and long before that things will become easier.

This lockdown is already showing signs of working, that gets us back to last summer , things open, holidays , friends and family. Then the vaccine stops the late autumn wave. So we get to Christmas in a better state

Provided we hold on ,

It’ll get better

I really don’t want to see a vaccine busting variant. So avoiding that should be ok soon

I can’t really see a clear end to it all - this just feels like normal life now.
That's the trouble. Saint Boris's BRAINWASHING - and yes, it is brainwashing, is working too well.
"Three weeks to flatten the curve."
"We can turn this virus around twelve weeks."
"Normal by September."
"We have to squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze the brakes."
"Normalish by Christmas." (But I didn't say which one.)
"It would be inhumane to cancel Christmas." (Just before doing so.)
"Schools are safe."
"I hope to see significant normality by Easter."
Drip drip drip.

Then what?
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease be patient for another one, two or three years, we've just found another magic money tree."

Don't listen to Boris.

It's coming, the light at the end of a very long dark tunnel is now visible.

We will vaccinate and get our over 50's safe by spring. Then the supply will be better by then and with the mass vaccination centres, GP's and pharmacies we can go through the remaining population very quickly.

In the meantime the scientists pioneering the Oxford vaccine will be adapting it for the newer variants. The vulnerable will be offered boosters as soon as this becomes available (in the same way flu boosters are given each year) and then the rest of the population.

It's important to track the new variant and try our best to eliminate it.

This is here to stay, but we have a good plan and the resources to vaccinate once our uk production gets off the ground. Hold tight. There will be bumps in the road but this misery ends soon.

The one thing I think the government have got right is the preorder of huge numbers of vaccines from different sources. I'm not commenting on the rest!

purplebagladylovesgin , Bettydot and midgebabe Thank you for your posts, very reassuring

@Thatusernamewastaken

Of course it is going to end. Do you honestly believe it isn’t?

I honestly do.

I know it feels that way, but my head knows that feeling is misguided

I am old enough to know when to trust my head

It will end but it was always going to be a bumpy ride imo

@lightand

This is the sort of thing some people said would happen. No idea if true or not.

Cant see it holding when nice weather comes, unless there is going to be a threat of serious fines. Or jail time.

Threat of serious disorder if we're still locked down in the summer.

This is not the first pandemic, we are in a better position than we have ever been before and the human race has always come through it.

We will be fine. Our children will be fine. It just doesn't feel like it when you're sat in the middle of it.

@Pink98

The legislation has been extended to give local councils lockdown powers until the 17th of July ???

Why on Earth ?? If the vaccine works... why will we need to be locked down in the summer ?

Are we just going to be trapped forever

I feel so miserable

Well I don't think we will get our liberties back any time soon

@thegosling

well that Vallance guy has said that we will probably still be wearing masks next winter. Because apparently we don't know if vaccinated people can still be asymptomatic and therefore pass the virus onto others. So what's the point? All this - shutting down the economy, ruining people's livelihoods, disrupting children's education, causing a mental health crisis - for a disease that's apparently so bad you have to take a test to find out if you've got it.

Yep Absolute joke

Oh go and volunteer in a hospital then

I know it's easier to pretend it isn't serious , but unless you are a child , there is no excuse for hiding your head in the sand

If wearing masks mean we are less likely to get colds and flu then I think we should keep wearing them in public places. I don’t want anyone to ever come near me without on on ever again.

Yeah, it will. If one thing that has come out of this it will be masks to stop winter viruses spreading too much. The NHS is at breaking point every Winter.

@purplebagladylovesgin

It's coming, the light at the end of a very long dark tunnel is now visible.

We will vaccinate and get our over 50's safe by spring. Then the supply will be better by then and with the mass vaccination centres, GP's and pharmacies we can go through the remaining population very quickly.

In the meantime the scientists pioneering the Oxford vaccine will be adapting it for the newer variants. The vulnerable will be offered boosters as soon as this becomes available (in the same way flu boosters are given each year) and then the rest of the population.

It's important to track the new variant and try our best to eliminate it.

This is here to stay, but we have a good plan and the resources to vaccinate once our uk production gets off the ground. Hold tight. There will be bumps in the road but this misery ends soon.

The one thing I think the government have got right is the preorder of huge numbers of vaccines from different sources. I'm not commenting on the rest!

What a great post

I will not be wearing a mask any longer than I have to. As an nhs community nursing worker it makes it incredibly hard to have meaningful communication with patients, especially those with hard or hearing. The nhs makes a big thing of effective communication and that certainly isn’t happening

@AlaskaThunderfuckHiiiiiiiii

I will not be wearing a mask any longer than I have to. As an nhs community nursing worker it makes it incredibly hard to have meaningful communication with patients, especially those with hard or hearing. The nhs makes a big thing of effective communication and that certainly isn’t happening

Masks will stay more in terms of public transport, shopping etc in winter, rather than customer facing roles.

@User133847 more likely to be optional I would imagine