If you are in your 20s or 30s and unvaccinated so far how worried are you about the Indian variant?

[beebopalola]

We are late thirties and hopefully able to book this week but I’m feeling very worried.

I keep reading things and seeing anecdotal posts from people who say that people in their 30s and 40s in India are being seriously compromised with the illness but I don’t
Know if this is true?! I saw a post on here that said a doctor at a Mumbai hospital said this but they didn’t provide a link.

Are you worried? Or are you looking forward to getting out there? I was really excited about all our plans but now I’m half dreading them because I think I’ll just be anxious all the time and am wondering if we should wait until our first vaccine kicks in at least.

I’ve lost the ability to balance risk I think :(

30 and unvaccinated. Not worried in the slightest and will be back in the pubs this weekend. Rather take my chances than carry on with this half life, it's been over a year.

Late 20s and unvaccinated and not worried in the slightest.
I probably won’t go around hugging anyone as I don’t really do hugs anyway but I’m more than happy to sit inside, go on holiday, go to the gym without worrying.

Have a fabulous time!

Really worried but a lot of that is because I’m also pregnant. I won’t be doing anything different from today x

I am vaccinated but would be worried if not. I am worried about my dc and want to know whether this variant affects children more, some articles were suggesting that to be the case.

I'm not worried, I don't think it is any more deadly just more contagious. I'm hoping to get vaccinated v soon, I'm 37, I'm happy to embrace the loosening of restrictions. We drove into Scotland at the weekend and ate lunch indoors, it was great!

36, heavily pregnant, group 6 and not yet vaccinated. Still not worried.

Final trimester of pregnancy, ethnic minority group, vaccinated with only one-dose (which I’m grateful about). But still don’t want to be collateral damage to the reopening - and there will inevitably be some - so will remain cautious until I’m fully vaccinated.

I’m happy to meet my fully vaccinated parents indoors though, since the risk of them asymptomatically transmitting covid to me is considered minuscule, according to experts.

I think its hard to compare us with India as they have a younger population (as well as many other differences, inter generational homes, no furlough etc). So when they say more younger people are affected what do they mean? A greater percentage? Compared to their first wave or compared to what?
If they have less elderly people as a proportion of their population then less of them to catch the virus. So proportionally more of those getting ill will be younger. If there were more elderly people, the same number of younger people would get ill with this variant but the proportion would be less. I haven't explained that well, I guess my main point is that India is so different to here its probably very difficult to draw meaningful implications from what's happening there.

I’m 37 weeks pregnant (and unvaccinated) and we’re basically going to isolate from now until the baby’s born. A. To maximise the chances of my partner being allowed at the birth and B. Because covid have been shown to be more dangerous to women this late on in pregnancy.

I particularly worry about how much more transmissible the Indian variant is. Though I imagine it won’t make young unvaccinated people that ill, it could just be harder not to catch.

If it does spread quickly through the unvaccinated population but people don’t need hospital treatment then I think it’s unlikely that the government will halt the lockdown easing

34 unvaccinated and not worried in the slightest.

29 and not worried at all.

The news coming out of India is tragic, their healthcare system is not coping, they don't have enough oxygen. In normal times, if I got pneumonia and my hospital had run out of oxygen I could well die, it doesn't mean someone else with access to healthcare will also die.

Late 20's and unvaccinated. Not worried in the slightest.

A fast spreading not too dangerous variant, alongside vaccination is the best way out of this mess!

27, perfectly healthy, not worried at all!

Should have said unvaccinated as well

Late 30s, had first jab last week so still technically don't have protection, but not at all worried. Will be enjoying pubs and restaurants this week. But our area isn't a hot spot, I don't have any underlying conditions and I've already had one dose of Covid and came through it unscathed!

37 and not vaccinated, not worried about it. I'll book the vaccine when I can, but I'm already going to the gym, activities for my child and have done since they reopened. I'll be meeting up with friends inside and family, cannot wait!

Thank you all. Congrats to the pregnant ladies hope it goes smoothly for you!

I am on the fence about cancelling our plans as we have a young DS and it’s making me feel irresponsible. But I think that’s probably from reading a lot of mumsnet threads before bed to be honest!

42 and won't be vaccinated until the weekend. I am concerned because having seen how the virus spreads I think it will be quite prevalent here before the vaccine has had a chance to work. The wait isn't through choice, it is because my health board went against JCVI advice and skipped straight from over 50s to under 30s. Just to rub it in, they had sessions last week for any under 40s to book.

I am concerned for my children too, mainly for the risk of long covid or long term effects that may come to light down the line.

I think when reading about the cases in India you need to think about the whole picture.

Whilst there is a lot of media about it affecting younger people than we’ve typically heard about in the U.K. it doesn’t necessarily suggest that it’s more dangerous for younger people. The average police expectancy in India is 69, compared to 81 in the U.K. which means that sadly in India people tend to die at a younger age. Drs have reported for years that they typically see conditions associated with poor lifestyle/aging in younger people in India (such as heart disease and diabetes, both of which are risk factors for covid) than in western countries, so although there are young people requiring hospital treatment they are not necessarily as healthy as you would expect given their young age. Similarly, the effects of limited access to healthcare (for a large section of the population) and high pollution in cities will have a large impact on the population’s Heath. The limited access to healthcare for many people, means that many “healthy” people have undiagnosed medical conditions, or exacerbated treatable conditions.
The caseload is so great in India currently (with reported cases only the tip of the iceberg) that very sadly many ill people will not get the healthcare they require - oxygen shortages and overrun hospitals have meant that people have died who may have otherwise survived (such as when oxygen ran out in several hospitals). This was also a real concern at several points in the U.K. where there were bed shortages etc.
Because the caseload is so high, the people catching covid are also more likely to have a higher viral load, which will impact on things.

I don’t think the new variant should worry you too much on an individual level (obviously at a population level a potentially more transmissible variant is worrying) the advice should be the same, be careful, and book you vaccine as soon as you are eligible. For what it’s worth, I’m in my 20s and due my second dose soon, but I am not worried about my unvaccinated bf catching covid in U.K.

40 and vaccinated. However if I wasn't I'd be terrified of Long Covid.

I'm not worried about getting sick. I'm worried that my half term trip to see my parents will have to be cancelled :(

Early 20s, unvaccinated, not worried in the slightest. Met up with 9 other people indoors on Friday. When it comes to decision making it’s best to step away from Mumsnet and think rationally. We’re at a point where we need to risk assess ourselves and not just listen to what the government or a MN stranger has to say about it.

I do feel similar to @Twizbe though, in that I really don’t mind catching Covid, but I’d hate for it to disrupt work/travel/social plans. I think that’s why I’ve mostly been careful this winter, to avoid having to miss work.