I have a bad feeling that we're screwed

[MyFloorIsLava]

This Indian variant is a disaster. I had thought that, with cases so far down, and the vaccine roll out going so well, that things would be back to normal a bit soon. But cases are up, hospitalisations are up, and the hospital in Bolton has gone from having 13 covid patients to 33 in a week. They're discharging everyone possible to brace for an admissions surge. I could cry my fucking eyes out. DH was so ill from covid, FIL died from it, and the cost to everyone's mental health is incalculable - plus the economy surely can't survive another lockdown. Selfishly, it looks unlikely that my DD will get her birthday party. I'm so fed up with it all.

We're in a dreadful position!

Based on what?

[quote NotBot]Yes. They did.

www.scotsman.com/news/transport/coronavirus-christmas-watch-swathes-people-cram-london-station-ahead-new-lockdown-3073992[/quote]
The people leaving to go the their homes in the Christmas rush clearly weren't all 'Londoners' there would have been lots of day trippers, commuters etc too, but don't let that get in the way of your London bashing.

We're in a dreadful position!

We’re really not. We’re in a better position than we could even dream of six months ago. Get some perspective, ffs.

@ILoveAnOwl which county in the south west are you? I’m in Somerset and we’ve had the occasional year group out but none in the schools my dc are in despite 500 pupils in one and 1000 in the other. No cases in the local hospital for 4 weeks now.

I distinctly remember the CRUSH of Londoners leaving London in December on the train to get home to family for Christmas

Surely if they were going home they couldn’t have been Londoners?

@bubblebath62636

Op, don't believe everything you hear/read/see.

Personally I think this variant is a lie, constructed to amp up vaccination rates.

wtf.... you think it's a lie... ??? Why?

We're in Gloucestershire.

[quote Lalalablahblahblah]@NotBot sorry but that's frankly bollocks. I'm a Londoner, from London and frankly where the hell would I run to to get away from the Kent varient? Especially at Christmas??
I live here. My family live here. The 'crush' of people taking the Kent varient 'to the North which had barely been touched' at that point were quite clearly people from the North rushing home to family!
Not that I blame them BTW, nor do I blame anyone who doesn't want to cancel their half term holiday for the sake of GUIDANCE when they won't get a refund. But I'm so sick of all the anti Londoners chat that's all over mumsnet all the time.[/quote]

Exactly correct!

All part of the MSM jolly japes to divide people and fuel malcontent.

Op I’m sorry about your father in law. Did you get Covid given your husband was so ill? You are both still here then so I don’t get why you aren’t more relieved or positive having got through it.

I disagree that anything is disastrous. Very few people are getting seriously ill and even less are dying from it anymore. Even the more infectious strains.
Maybe schools and offices are partially closes in odd places but that’s because testing is so readily available.
My concern is this rubbish weather affecting food prices next year and paying back the debit long term. I’m also pissed off at the amount of waste in terms if masks, gloves and lateral flow tests that are handed out willy nilly and are discarded all over the place.

This is mental. So everyone in Bolton should cancel their holiday plans now?

Indian variant is going to spread regardless. How did it get here otherwise?

Should people be locked in their houses and get the army out on the street?

It's fine calm down.

It's not fucking selfish of me to go on the holiday I've just paid out a non-refundable £800 for! It's fucking selfish of those that went to India and brought it back here! It's fucking selfish of the government that allowed them to come back without a hotel quarantine!

BTW, I'm not in one of the 8 authorities with new guidance, but you can bet by the time I'm due to go on holiday 2 weeks time we will be as we're right next door to an authority that is!

@bubblebath62636

Op, don't believe everything you hear/read/see.

Personally I think this variant is a lie, constructed to amp up vaccination rates.

Yes, the people in India certainly died because of your UK issues.

Hyperbole and scaremongering. JUST STOP @MyFloorIsLava

The UK really isn't in a terrible position. Vaccine take-up is high, high infection areas have accelerated vaccine programmes and are prioritised for second doses, and remember that the 60% AZ efficacy is for symptomatic COVID. The vaccine has a much greater efficacy when it comes to hospitalisation and death.

Read trusted sources. Avoid hyperbole.

We are not going back into lockdown.
The vaccines should cover the new variant.
I don't think we should panic.

However I think the English govt are irresponsible. If we had the same cases as the current problem area we would not be allowed out of our zone.

To allow that is hugely irresponsible . Scotland have had much more stringent rules than England. And if it is ruined by ppl in high case areas travelling here I'd be incredibly annoyed.

@MustardRose

My friend lives in Bedford and last week he tried to book his second vaccination. The earliest appointment he could get was in another town about 15 miles away and in early June.

Considering the lack of take-up in the town thus far, it is rather surprising that they have such a shortage of appointments, and that residents are having to travel out of the borough to get one.

That's very odd as online bookings for mass vaccination centres ask you to book the second appointment when you book the first one so you get both dates at once and when they are done by GP surgeries they usually contact you close to the second date

I think the reality if in between ‘it’s all fine’ and ‘we’re screwed’

The Indian variant is a legitimate worry - and if I was going on holiday I’d do it in a way where I wouldn’t the mixing with other people, just a cottage somewhere with the family.

It is still a good idea to keep contacts with a smaller group of people, and as summer is coming, to do most things in the fresh air. Avoid public transport. Still wear masks and don’t go out to dinner in a restaurant or drink in a pub.

The UK is hovering on the ‘1’ and may go below it, or may go above, so we are not heading for disaster but we are not out of the woods for sure yet.

[quote PurpleDaisies]Not sure about that, they have had pretty average uptake and rapid acceleration now.

Yes, there’s an article in the BMJ saying essentially the same thing.

www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1345[/quote]
If you read that article it is very unclear about the statistics. It seems to be saying that vaccine uptake has been average across Bolton so it may be unlikely to be related to not being vaccinated but they are unable to say that as they have no information about the patients in that hospital. I would hope that for Matt Hancock to make the statement he did, he had more detailed info
As somebody else said the graphics shown on Jeremy Vine were very striking. It was a map of Bolton divided into wards and the areas with lowest vaccine uptake had the highest infection rates and vice versa. I cannot find them to share though

I would hope that for Matt Hancock to make the statement he did, he had more detailed info.

Matt Hancock has a history of making statements based on very spurious information.

OP if you are posting from a point of real anxiety then you have my sympathy. However I actually think you have posted with an attention grabbing title to see what kind of reaction you can get - 5 pages later I think it worked.

My understanding is that deaths and hospitalizations have plummeted and that the small number of remaining deaths and hospitalizations are almost entirely among those who were eligible for the vaccine and refused it. Why are we supposed to be panicking about "cases" when they are not actually making people particularly ill?

@Avenueofcherryblossom I used to live in London and went "homé" to my family every Christmas. A lot of people in London have family elsewhere.

London has the lowest vaccine take-up of large areas in the country. Does that mean we can expect high hospitalizations in London?

Honestly. Thank god for those clever, clever people who made the vaccines.

@ILoveAnOwl I think there’s three schools now closed in the county. Two in Gloucester and one Forest of Dean.
Yet the actual numbers in the county seem low.
They seem to have a low threshold for school closures at the moment. Not that I’m an expert!