We are going to have to live with covid

[Cloudsurfing]

Thank goodness the government have acknowledged this. Hancock says it will become a virus we live with, like flu. Once the vaccine and treatments have done their job of bringing down hospitalisation, and cases are under control, we will get on with everything again this year.

We aren’t going for zero covid, and all the doomers who say we will be like this for years are most likely wrong!

But they will have been vaccinated hopefully?

Anything short of a desire to end lockdown THIS SECOND, is either a sign of terrified idiots mindlessly buying into government propaganda, or alternatively hateful ghouls revelling in suffering. I think you are almost certainly a ghoul, Flax. Fancy calling decent, reasonable people deniers, I bet you're rubbing your hands in glee at all this!

@DianaT1969

The bad thing with knowing it will always be around is that when patients go into hospital for something else, they might catch it there and succumb because they are already poorly. It seems more dangerous than other hospital acquired illnesses.

I’m not so sure about it being worse than other hospital acquired illlesses. Norovirus isn’t exactly amazing news when it sweeps through a care home or hospital ward of the vulnerable.

I guess covid will be like tb, measles or mumps.

In terms of control philosophy.
Rather than like common cold, norovirus, chickenpox or influenza.

Right at the beginning of this I heard some expert say that this was here to stay and that instead of talking about "cold and flu season" in future, we would talk about "cold, flu and coronavirus season". Smallpox excepted, we don't eradicate viruses. We just learn to live with them.

Zero Covid was never a real option. It's endemic. It's going to be here forever. Which is one of the reasons the NZ response may not work out well in the long run, unless they are very, very careful about opening up their borders.

We were told this last year.

Talk of zero covid in SAGE type groups has been taken out of context by journalists and commentators (who need to be held responsible for some of the harms they are causing).

But hey! Find a stick, pick it up and use to beat someone!

Nellodee Anything short of a desire to end lockdown THIS SECOND, is either a sign of terrified idiots mindlessly buying into government propaganda, or alternatively hateful ghouls revelling in suffering. I think you are almost certainly a ghoul, Flax. Fancy calling decent, reasonable people deniers, I bet you're rubbing your hands in glee at all this!

I haven't got a clue what any of this post is about or why you're so upset.

Hope we all feel better, and less stressed out, soon

So glad that it is finally starting to become mainstream that the idea that covid is here to stay.
I told this to people in rl last summer, and they looked like I was talking absolute rubbish.

I feel, and I could be wrong, that some people have somewhat wasted many months of their lives.

Whenever the government trots out “learning to live with it” I think “wtf do you think we’re doing?”

Currently we aren't living with it. We're mostly hiding from it.

Currently we aren't living with it. We're mostly hiding from it.

100% this.

I agree although we need to be better at stopping boarders in the future. Unfortunately I feel that new strains will crop up every winter and the scientists will need to speed up to adapt the vaccinnes.

@DuchessofHastings1

Currently we aren't living with it. We're mostly hiding from it.

100% this.

Er yes because too much of the country will fill up the hospitals atm. We all know this. This is why there is a mass vaccine rollout.

I honestly don't get why people repeatedly make this point. We literally have no other choice. Clearly you don't think hospitals are necessary.

@Littlecaf

Whenever the government trots out “learning to live with it” I think “wtf do you think we’re doing?”

I know. We are living with it.

No, we’re existing

@PinkSparklyPussyCat

No, we’re existing

I think there will be a medium. Can't see masks going anywhere and no way will people socialise as much as they used to. Just can't risk it anymore, you'll always need to know everyone you see is 'ok'. Travel is 😩.

What’s the point of being vaccinated if we’re still going to have to check everyone is ok? I’ll be seeing family and friends as normal once we’re all vaccinated and I certainly won’t be social distancing in my own home or garden!

‘Living with it’ implies something sustainable in the long term, doesn’t it? Which this really isn’t.

I imagine there will be some people who want to keep wearing masks and cutting down on socialising and travel, but I think most of the population will be straight back out as soon as possible.

@PinkSparklyPussyCat

What’s the point of being vaccinated if we’re still going to have to check everyone is ok? I’ll be seeing family and friends as normal once we’re all vaccinated and I certainly won’t be social distancing in my own home or garden!

No more lockdowns. Life will still be changed.

@GoldenOmber

‘Living with it’ implies something sustainable in the long term, doesn’t it? Which this really isn’t.

I imagine there will be some people who want to keep wearing masks and cutting down on socialising and travel, but I think most of the population will be straight back out as soon as possible.

You say "want to", more feel that they have to :(

The government have to go this route because they have fucked up so badly.

Every counrty will 'live with it', New Zealand will live with it and we will live with it. It is just that the UK will have far worse impacts, so what we will live with is higher circulating virus and therefore higher costs, both in terms of population health and the costs of dealing with those health impacts.

This is nothing to celebrate with this admission of failure, but we are where we are. We had the worst possible PM at the worst time, and we have all paid badly for that.

I think we’ve had far worse impacts than New Zealand up to now but I don’t see why that would hold in future. Unless you think NZ is going to keep its borders closed forever which seems unlikely and also has negative impacts of its own.

@GoldenOmber

I think we’ve had far worse impacts than New Zealand up to now but I don’t see why that would hold in future. Unless you think NZ is going to keep its borders closed forever which seems unlikely and also has negative impacts of its own.

NZ is clearly going to start from a position of (almost) no covid, and therefore it will be far easier to keep everything in order.

We are starting from a position of widespread virus.

I’m amazed at the faith so many people have in masks. They clearly do absolutely fuck all and some people seem to see them as some kind of solution to everything

It will just become another respiratory disease that the old and vulnerable die from in flu season.

People will get a tweaked annual jab and we will get on with life as normal as a nation can that have been terrified by the government and have lived through a pandemic.

We have horrendously bad flu seasons of 30k dead and the NHS in crisis but no one bats an eyelid afterall