All restrictions to be gone by May?

[LemonSherbetFancies]

Anyone else see this?
I would be really pleased if this happened and we could return to normal life.

I think it's very unlikely that all restrictions could be gone by then. I can't imagine night clubs with hundreds of people pressed up against each other singing, for example.

I'm very hopeful that we could get back to tier 1 or summer 2020 type restrictions, though.

I think whether we get out of this mess has much to do with whether anti vaxxers can see sense.

@ilikegrapes21

Well, it seems like the government's tone on this has really changed over the last couple of weeks and they are planning for SD to continue for the foreseeable future, perhaps until the rest of the world has made good progress with vaccines- news.sky.com/story/covid-19-government-scientists-want-to-keep-social-distancing-measures-in-place-for-foreseeable-future-12219223

I think those who were worried that restrictions would be dropped too quickly putting younger people at risk of long Covid will be relieved.

Which is ridiculous really if hospitalisations are right down.

I think the government just want to move cautiously to see how it goes with the vaccine. They're also concerned about new variants.

They messed it up after the first wave so it's hardly surprising that they're being more cautious this time. But they are still looking to open schools up on 8th March. They'll then wait to see whether there's a spike in Covid infections before they take any further steps.

But I'm sure things will have opened up by the summer. The vaccine rollout appears likely to be an outstanding success, so there will be no reason to continue restrictions from that point.

It’ll all be over by Christmas

@Dobbyafreeelf:

if it turns out the vaccine doesn't provide sufficiently long lasting immunity then at some point we will have to just accept it as part of life and get on with it. Yes people will die, yes the health care system will struggle, difficult decisions will have to be made but life will have to go on.

If it turns out the vaccine doesn’t provide sufficiently long lasting immunity, there will be a rolling programme of boosters, surely, rather than accepting that people will die and the health system will struggle as a permanent state of affairs?

Given that the first trial participants got their jabs in April, plus what we know from studies of immunity from infection (6 months and counting), it seems likely that vaccines give at least a year’s immunity. To be kept under review, of course.

*If it turns out the vaccine doesn’t provide sufficiently long lasting immunity, there will be a rolling programme of boosters, surely, rather than accepting that people will die and the health system will struggle as a permanent state of affairs?
*
^This. That's why there's an annual flu vaccine available.

[quote PuzzledObserver]@Dobbyafreeelf:

if it turns out the vaccine doesn't provide sufficiently long lasting immunity then at some point we will have to just accept it as part of life and get on with it. Yes people will die, yes the health care system will struggle, difficult decisions will have to be made but life will have to go on.

If it turns out the vaccine doesn’t provide sufficiently long lasting immunity, there will be a rolling programme of boosters, surely, rather than accepting that people will die and the health system will struggle as a permanent state of affairs?

Given that the first trial participants got their jabs in April, plus what we know from studies of immunity from infection (6 months and counting), it seems likely that vaccines give at least a year’s immunity. To be kept under review, of course.[/quote]
@PuzzledObserver and how would we manage that precisely? We have the biggest vaccine program in history and have vaccinated 15 million people in 3 months. Doing so by pulling medical professionals from other departments and many volunteering on holidays and days off and utilising the armed forces.
It isn't viable to vaccinate everybody every six months.

I agree that it is unlikely that the vaccine doesn't last for six months plus but if it turns out it doesn't life will have to go on.

I expect that in future years it will be the vulnerable who are invited to have vaccines on the NHS. Anyone else who wants one will have to pay at a pharmacy. As happens with flu.

@Anonanon12 I had my first baby in July they have been held by most of our family and friends. If you are not vulnerable covid is not a huge risk to you and certainly won’t be come spring when cases are very low. I suggest you speak to someone about your anxiety as it’s so important your baby meets and is held by their family and gets to experience life outside of the house!

This is ridiculous and wont happen