Life will never be the same, will it?

[Hiidee]

I’m having a wobble...

Life is so different now, and I just don’t see how it’s ever, ever going to be the same again.

I’m genuinely so frightened for what our futures will look like and I can’t help but feel our freedoms will no longer exist.

I feel we are heading to living in a society where we will have “us & them” in relation to vaccinated and unvaccinated.

Unvaccinated won’t be able to eat / drink at certain places, use supermarkets with everyone else, or use public transport.

I am fully vaccinated so it’s not my personal freedoms I worry about, but I don’t want to live in a world that could look like this.

I see restrictions always being a part of our lives now. It’s just utterly miserable.

When I look back at life pre pandemic it just feels like it was a dream.
I mean what did we really have to worry about?
No restrictions/ rules. Just life and living.

Should we just accept that our lives as we knew it are gone?

@PolkadotSloth

If you're feeling like that about Covid, you should be waaaaayyy more worried about climate change. The impact of that on your children will be ten times worse than this at least, if global economies are not completely overhauled in the next 15 years.

Yes, I think about this every time I throw away all the testing paraphernalia. I've always worried about what kind of a future my children and their families will have, but Covid is the least of my concerns.

I agree OP, I don't want to live in a world where the 'dirty' unvaccinated people are segregated away from the good, clean vaccinated folk. That's a horrific thought to me, whether or not I have the jab.

And while I want to believe that we'll get over this as we have done other pandemics, that change is the only certainty blah blah, the reality is that this particular pandemic, in a very global connected world, has come at a shit time for us. Because as the pandemic fades into insignificance, we are almost certainly going to see a ramping up of repercussions from climate breakdown, I think it will be hard not to look at our pre-pandemic lives as the last time things were 'normal'. I don't think we'll be that carefree again - I don't think my 13 year old is going to live a normal, quiet, contented life because of climate change and all the other shite that comes along with it, and I feel real grief about that.

So I guess what I'm saying is I can't really separate out pandemic mess from climate change and it's associated disruptions, and I do look back at pre-2020 as one part of my life, and everything that comes after that as another, different part. Some people won't feel the same, and good for them. Frankly I'd love to feel as carefree as some of the people on this thread. But I just don't. I feel apprehensive and sad for my child.

Hmmm... I remember being pretty worried about the ‘hole in the ozone layer’ and rising sea levels when I was growing up and I still managed to lead a normal, happy, contented life.

DD's a uni student. She's had no face to face all year, tutors that don't get back to her. In September meant to be doing a year abroad (obviously for experience but also modules are different and interest her), she won't know if this will happen until mid August (probably not). If she studies next year in the UK, her uni are still expecting no face to face next term. Hard to accept this is the way it's going to be for the foreseeable. She's only sticking at this through determination to get a degree in her chosen field (she's very lucky to have other options, increased working hours and promotion has been mentioned).

She's one of the ones who'll be employed and doing their best to make a difference with climate change/sustainability issues!

@bumbleymummy

No, I don’t notice a lot of them stopping me living my life. As I said, there are still restrictions but it’s not like we can’t work around them. Some things will take longer to return to normal but in the meantime we can get on with doing the things that we can instead of sitting waiting for everything to ‘go back to the way it was’.

Last year was crap and we missed out on far too much. I’m not going to sit around this year.

I so want to get out there and do all the things we’re allowed to do, as you say we missed out on far too much. But sadly we are barely scraping by financially because the lockdowns and restrictions completely decimated my income for the best part of a year. We are fortunate in many many ways, we are getting on with it the best we can but I can’t help feeling the sting of wanting to do normal life again but not being able to afford to!

I don't think it will be forever, it will go back to somewhat normal eventually. Science progress everyday. Once the herd immunity is achieved, the virus will slow down. There could be better treatment.

We face things like this because of the way we live. And I'm sure we will survive one way or another.

Yep, normal’s not coming back ever. Blended learning (cheaper and less hassle for uni’s), face coverings in some places, annual winter restrictions (because the government have normalised restrictions to protect our wonderful NHS) are all shit and here to stay. Oh, and massive public sector cuts and tax rises are probably coming, you know, to pay for the 2 trillion pounds this nightmare has cost us.

I’m glad I don’t have children.

We've had many pandemics in the history of humanity and it always goes back to normal.

Joke of the week goes to......

@Tobermorie

The world changes on a regular basis. It changed after WW2. It changed when women entered the workplace. It changed when the computer became widely used. It changed when the internet was invented, and again when we all got mobile phones. Life now is nothing like it was 20 years ago. Covid is just another change. You can’t stop time from moving on and you can’t keep things the same.

Exactly. If there was never any progression from "normal" we would still be living in hunter-gatherer communities.

LOL at the OP saying it will be like the Hunger Games, do you really not think that is a bit hyperbolic? You still absolutely have the choice to get vaccinated or not, but if you choose not to you may find there are some consequences, like not being served at certain places or being able to work certain jobs. Such is life.

I do think our lives will change in the future because the modern lifestyle just isn’t compatible with our environment. We rape the planet for all our material wealth and that’s not sustainable long term. I’m not convinced this pandemic will be the thing that changes that though.

I think biological welfare is one of the things that was discussed as having the potential to be catastrophic. It makes sense to me that a way of wiping out enough people elsewhere to acquire more landmass for your population would be to make a virus, vaccinate your own and then let it go.

Life will never be the same, will it? ....... not for a lot of people !.

The thing that saddens me is the masks and social distancing ☹️ I really miss human interaction, seeing people’s faces, not being worried when in busy places etc. Xxx

You really don't notice that you can't be spontaneous, ever. Everything has to be booked in advance. No, quite used to that now and some NT places are starting to say booking not compulsory anymore
You don't notice that you have to wear a face mask and sanitise every time you go indoors. A bit. But it's pretty cursory really. Masks on in shops when it's hot are annoying but mine comes off as I step back through the door so I minimise it
You don't notice that you can't attend sporting events, concerts, meals over a certain number. Not really. Went out for dinner last night. Not booked anything, had our pick of 7 or 8 places easily. Have theatre tickets booked for October and November
You don't notice that you can't go into your children's school to attend plays or sports days. I went in yesterday for parents' evening. Sports day and picnic planned for July at the moment
You don't notice that you can't leave this country. There you have me, but we are having two UK breaks in the summer. Holidays are still happening.
You don't notice how hard it is to visit your doctor. Don't know. Haven't needed to for a long time but I do need an emergency dental appointment today which I am assured I can get if I call after 6.

I really miss human interaction, seeing people’s faces, not being worried when in busy places etc
I don't find that I have to wear a mask in places where I'd mostly expect to have interaction. I've never cared for chatting to strangers in shops much. Nursery and school runs have been as normal with chatting outside (no masks), after church has meant no staying inside for coffee but hanging around outside with thermos flasks and no masks. People are rarely wearing masks outside so I see faces in the street all the time.

I'll be delighted to see the end of compulsory mask wearing but I don't really notice it that much now anyway.

I don't mind the extra hygiene measures at all. People were disgusting AF before the pandemic, just imagine how many never washed their hands after going to the bathroom or those who openly cough and sneeze in enclosed spaces. Even if covid fades, there will be a lot of stigma in publicly displaying you're sick. And hopefully some people may voluntarily wear masks IF they are infectious, as has been the norm for decades in Asian countries with a high population density.

Good lord, there are some miserable people on this thread. Soon the vast majority of the population will be double vaccinated, at which point life will return to normal.

it's just a period of accelerated change. Happens at certain times in history. Some changes were on the way, but have been vastly accelerated.
No all the changes will be bad.
Not everyone had a great life pre-covid.
You sound like you are very anti-vaccine-passports, but actually other countries have been able to get back to normal much quicker and have freedoms restored much sooner with vaccine passports. The UK government do not seem in favour right now, so I don't think you need worry. Bizarrely the UK government are all in favour of vaccine passports solely for thepurpose of recreational travel though, which is perverse given their greenwashing re cars and boilers (i.e. things that cost and burden the little people) but policies that increase the use of fossil fuels in industry and mass transportation (including wanting much of our food to come from Aus/NZ in the future).

@DappledThings

You really don't notice that you can't be spontaneous, ever. Everything has to be booked in advance. No, quite used to that now and some NT places are starting to say booking not compulsory anymore You don't notice that you have to wear a face mask and sanitise every time you go indoors. A bit. But it's pretty cursory really. Masks on in shops when it's hot are annoying but mine comes off as I step back through the door so I minimise it You don't notice that you can't attend sporting events, concerts, meals over a certain number. Not really. Went out for dinner last night. Not booked anything, had our pick of 7 or 8 places easily. Have theatre tickets booked for October and November You don't notice that you can't go into your children's school to attend plays or sports days. I went in yesterday for parents' evening. Sports day and picnic planned for July at the moment You don't notice that you can't leave this country. There you have me, but we are having two UK breaks in the summer. Holidays are still happening. You don't notice how hard it is to visit your doctor. Don't know. Haven't needed to for a long time but I do need an emergency dental appointment today which I am assured I can get if I call after 6.

Well we gave up after not getting in 4 places for a meal a couple of weeks ago. I don't want to decide what time I want to eat several days in advance and then have to plan my day around getting there on time.

An people won't be so blaze about UK holidays when they been rained on for a week on their UK holiday that cost more than it ever does to go to the Med with it's guaranteed sunshine.

@Couchbettato

I am an err on the edge of caution kind of person. I'm very risk averse. But you're silly to consider that this specific pandemic is the one where things don't go back to normal.

We've had many pandemics in the history of humanity and it always goes back to normal.

Things just seem bleak in the moment. That's normal and a reasonable judgement. But life will go back to normal.

Needs to hear this today

I think that the pandemic has raised an interesting question about inequality. At the outset it was kind of assumed that the rich west would be fine but that poor, especially African, countries would suffer.

Turned out that African counties fared well - could be lack of international travel, could be existing treatments for other conditions that aren't approved in the West because they absolutely provide no protection against covid, could be that population was decimated but there was no recording.

But the rich west had a bad time. Top of the charts for infection and death. But those people died with and not of Covid and in any case were old and were going to die anyway.

At the start it was thought that this would reduce inequality in the west. That low paid but essential workers would finally be recognised. But no. Give them a clap but no financial reward.

Because the financial reward went to the already rich. They have had a really good pandemic. Inequality within western countries has increased. Exponentially. And the masses turn a blind eye, obsessing about freedom to go to the supermarket or pub without wearing a mask because our great leaders brought the great saviour of vaccines and that reassures us that we are after all superior to counties with lower case and death rates that had never had extended lockdown. Because they haven't vaccinated as many as we have and that's the measure.

First sign of trouble was blaming the unvaccinated. Then more people got vaccinated. Then it was the delay of vaccination and immunity and then the need for second vaccine - despite previous policy. But then vaccines don't always work - must be because they were old and going to die anyway and died with but not of Covid. Full circle.

Because the financial reward went to the already rich
well, they are the ones in control of where the money goes so of course they make sure if flows in their direction
why would we expect any different

@KOKOagainandagain

The West - to an extent partly depends on definition. Australia and New Zealand are often thought of as Western countries. Other people see them as part of the Asia Pacific grouping. Many think both Western and Asia Pacific.

Many African countries did so well. Took the measures needed, including border control, put in the hard work, to suppress and contain. Unfortunately they are vulnerable to high risk places like the UK exporting Covid to them. For their sake as well as ours, we shouldn't do the Mark Harper and Steve Baker way of letting it freely spread - the bodies pile up high approach.

It would be immensely helpful (for the whole world) if Biden succeeds in his call for the drugs companies to allow a temporary vaccine patent waiver.