Can anyone explain to me how this is different to flu now please?

[musicalfrog]

Apart from the overseas thing, I get that other countries don't have as much protection as we do.

So -

Covid is a respiratory disease as is flu.

We now have our most vulnerable population fully vaccinated (as with flu).

Covid mutates. Just like flu. So we change the vaccine every year, same with covid.

So why are we still in this situation, wearing masks and distancing and all the other bollocks we're going for covid but don't do for flu?

Good for thought!?!?! Food for thought!

I think no matter where your opinion lies this has undoubtly revealed a very ugly side to our society.

I actually think a bit more positively about this. We complied and a lot of the time it wasn’t so much for ourselves, but others.

Yes strong campaigns around it as tools but I haven’t see the selfish and ugly side very much at all. Well irl I mean.

@NannyAndJohn

Fucking hell.

Fuck me.

You still don't get it?

You really are a piece of work @NannyAndJohn

And positivity is good @MarshaBradyo. I’m afraid I’m not in a place particularly to see that from a wider perspective just yet, maybe too much time online…

Admittedly irl I have had some very heartening experiences but for me they’ve been undeniably tarnished by a general rustle of disquiet that wants to undermine what good has been done throughout this pandemic so far.

I’m digressing quite a lot but I’ve had interactions with friends, colleagues and strangers who’ve gone above and beyond to help people both just maintain what standard of living they can or directly work to tend people affected by covid who’ve been indiscriminately shit on and accused of all sorts just for trying to do good things. I was pretty jaded before tbh, but it’s been cemented further that I was probably right to be.

Some research suggests 1 in 10 people who have had covid will develop long covid.

Research from Israel and a couple of small town studies struggle at you need 85% of the population to be fully vaccinated to develop her immunity. I suspect that is the aim for the U.K. to be normal inside the U.K. but that’s doesn’t include international travel.

Research indicates that Covid is not a respiratory virus.

It seems to be an inflammatory and vascular disease - that often (but not always) has respiratory symptoms.

@Fitforforty

Some research suggests 1 in 10 people who have had covid will develop long covid.

Research from Israel and a couple of small town studies struggle at you need 85% of the population to be fully vaccinated to develop her immunity. I suspect that is the aim for the U.K. to be normal inside the U.K. but that’s doesn’t include international travel.

Yes 80-90% need to be vaccinated to achieve true herd immunity. The WHO said the same a while back, if I recall correctly.

We in the UK are making good headway. We're doing well with our vaccine rollout.

Boris has called for the whole world to be vaccinated by 2022. Biden had been talking to the drugs companies about potential temporary patent waiver. Whether he succeeds or not, I don't know, but that could go some way towards helping.

my understanding is that it has high ability to colonise human tissue including but not limited to the respiratory system

I guess the question should be at what point does COVID become like all the other endemic viruses/diseases/infections that we live with have lived with for hundreds of years because that is a very valid question. We cannot keep treating each outbreak/variant the same as we did at the beginning at some point we do have to accept/tolerate that it will be another risk we live with, another possible way we will die. At what point does that happen?

@QioiioiioQ

More like the government will attempt to gaslight us into accepting whatever level of death best fits into to their crony-ist ideology🙄

Agree QioiioiioQ

we will have deaths every year from Covid.

It's not inevitable - but I agree that, with governments like the UK, it's likely.

Which presumably means cases of Long Covid disability too.

We might also become a high risk travel country - where residents of other countries need to get travel vaccines before visiting.

East Asia, parts of Africa, Australia, and New Zealand did the right thing but other countries including the UK fucked it up.

Which presumably means cases of Long Covid disability too
I wonder if that sense the long term health burden of covid might be like that of malaria in other countries?

"I am very worried for this winter as we’ve all been in our protective anti bac bubbles. I’ve not had a cold for about 18 months and I’m not sure that is a good thing!"

Same here.

"Yes 80-90% need to be vaccinated to achieve true herd immunity. The WHO said the same a while back, if I recall correctly."

At the beginning, they were saying 70%.

@Gwenhwyfar

"Yes 80-90% need to be vaccinated to achieve true herd immunity. The WHO said the same a while back, if I recall correctly."

At the beginning, they were saying 70%.

I guess it changed as we learnt more about it. Personally I would always say at least 80% for a new and contagious airborne disease.

@QioiioiioQ

Which presumably means cases of Long Covid disability too I wonder if that sense the long term health burden of covid might be like that of malaria in other countries?

Not the same - but definitely it's going to add to the NHS workload (and funding needs) - and of course the disability benefits budget.

my understanding is that it has high ability to colonise human tissue including but not limited to the respiratory system

Yes this seems to be the case.

I agree to a point, not overly well researched in the science but logic says that at some point we have to decide we are as safe as we are going to be for a long while and get on with it. We all know flu vaccines aren't 100% effective but we don't use that as a reason to have restrictions in place during a normal flu season, we just vaccinate the vulnerable and everyone carries on.

There does seem to be a desire from some to stay restricted until it is eradicated, which will never happen.

that at some point we have to decide we are as safe as we are going to be for a long while and get on with it.

Get on with it.... as in, other people die or end up disabled with potential organ damage...

Add all those extra Covid deaths on top of the flu ones.

The burden of Long Covid will be costly (long term).

It's absolutely not inevitable. It's entirely the choice of governments.

@CrunchyCarrot

Erm. The flu virus and the SARS-COV-2 virus are very different in the way they mutate. Flu has a segmented genome and is able to switch bits around far more easily, Coronaviruses don't do this.

We now have our most vulnerable population fully vaccinated (as with flu).

We only vaccinate the vulnerable against flu and some years the flu vaccine is ineffective (depending on what strains are included). It's actually far less effective than the current Covid vaccines.

Covid mutates. Just like flu.

No it doesn't mutate 'just like flu'. It can't because they replicate differently (flu is segmented) and coronaviruses have error-checking included (yes really) so they mutate less.

Our bodies build up resistance to flu throughout are lives, that doesn't happen with Covid

Not really accurate. If you've had Covid once, chances are you won't get it again, or if you do it'll be mild. There are far more flu strains and it's possible to get flu several times over the course of one's life. They are very different viruses.

we're going for covid but don't do for flu?

I've a feeling masking and SD may be brought in for flu, if we have a bad season.

Does this poster have any actual clinical or scientific qualifications? Given that they are posting as bunch of internet keyboard warrior assertions as facts I strongly doubt it.

I prefer to get my facts from experts rather than Sharon off the internet.

Majority of the population fully vaccinated (and then majority of the world) and there's nowhere for Covid to go. Limited chance of transmission.

Of course we shouldn't be aiming to let it became endemic. We might well do that (and will regret it in the future) but that doesn't mean we should.

We are at a stage where it's not too late. We haven't (yet) reached the point of no return.

We do NOT have to condemn our children to grow up (and grow old) in a future where there's forever a new now endemic deadly disease, that can leave people disabled. And the ongoing financial burden particular of Long Covid. Our failure to contain has already cost the economy dear.

It will be our children that pay the cost - financial and health - of us allowing it to become endemic.

I've suffered from flu in the past...not nice, couple of weeks feeling gcrap, then got better

And then I got a severe case of covid end of December which resulted in a 12 week stay in hospital 6 of which involved having machines do my breathing for me, almost losing a leg due to clots, having to learnt to basically function again basically. I'm now on supplementary o2 for any level of exhersion, read going to the supermarket, walking the dog etc. And have been advised this is likely long term if it indefinitely

To add to the list of obvious symptoms above I also currently suffer from the following all as a direct consequence of having had severe covid:

• dangerously low BP
• enlarged heart and likely to need heart valve replacement
• no feeling In my toes
• reduced feeling in my fingers
• reduced sensation in my lips
• loss of menstrual periods
• brain fog
• chronic fatigue
• severe joint pain
• hair loss
• sunken scalp

So no not just like flu at all...completely different and hence why they're doing all they can to prevent the spread still. I'm a mid forties previously fit and well woman. Was doing all I could to not catch it, following guidance but just got unlucky at the supermarket between Xmas and New year. I was then doubly unlucky to get it bad and there's the thing, nobody knows who's going to get it bad believe me when I say, my time spent on ICU and HDU was mainly surrounded by people the same age group as me, not old vulnerable people, and sorry to say, most of them died. I was the lucky one

eviesmum I'm so sorry for what you have suffered I hope things improve and you are able to rest and heal

@QioiioiioQ

eviesmum I'm so sorry for what you have suffered I hope things improve and you are able to rest and heal

Thank you so much, compared to where I was I'm amazing g now, had my first of 12 covid rehab sessions today, hard work but I've learnt to push myself to realise the benefits.

Does this poster have any actual clinical or scientific qualifications? Given that they are posting as bunch of internet keyboard warrior assertions as facts I strongly doubt it.*

I prefer to get my facts from experts rather than Sharon off the internet.

@ChequerBoard you shouldn’t take anything as an expert opinion on MN. They don’t check or verify anyone and make this very clear.

It’s a good rule of thumb for the internet in general….

Actually, it’s not really a respiratory disease. That’s what was initially thought.

@Cornettoninja

* Does this poster have any actual clinical or scientific qualifications? Given that they are posting as bunch of internet keyboard warrior assertions as facts I strongly doubt it.*

I prefer to get my facts from experts rather than Sharon off the internet.

@ChequerBoard you shouldn’t take anything as an expert opinion on MN. They don’t check or verify anyone and make this very clear.

It’s a good rule of thumb for the internet in general….

Err thanks but that was entirely my point....