All this has to stop. We can’t live like this!

[SweetsMum3]

We need to learn to live with covid like we do with all other viruses, illnesses and diseases. The elderly and high risk are vaccinated… that was the goal, remember?! Like Hancock said, we will cry freedom when the over 70s are vaccinated!

There is no reason for mass testing when the young and healthy get covid mildly. My child is in tears yet again because she isn’t allowed to go to school for 10 days. A few students in her year group tested positive and all students are forced to be locked in their homes… again.

Are the sick?! No. Half have no symptoms. The others have a slight fever and feel a little tired.

This isn’t fair. This isn’t healthy. This isn’t sane. This is harmful and destructive to children. An entire generation has been betrayed. For what exactly? Over a virus which does not affect them. Over fear. Over people being immensely risk-averse. Over loss of control and people can’t take it.

It is time we live our lives and get back to normal before it’s too late. If our children hold us accountable and never forgive us, I will completely understand. We have not stood-up for them. Instead, we cowered in fear not giving a hoot about the collateral damage all these restrictions have caused. Shame on us.

@Tealightsandd

I'm really too busy for MN tonight but had to pop back in quickly.

Seriously?

People are trying to suggest failing to contain, just letting it freely spread, would benefit children.

Quite aside from the mental health impact on children of bereavement, if you care about children, you don't gamble with their health.

15 paediatric Long Covid clinics are being set up.

Concern for children? Let's start by focusing on getting CEV and CV children vaccinated when it's possible. It's only approved for 12+ for now but that's at least a start.

I quite agree. Don’t gamble with children’s health. That’s why mass vaccinations for children are such a worrying idea at present.

@JaniieJones

'Agree that the idea of a healthcare system which requires everyone to sit at home "protecting it" (and getting progressively less healthy as they do so) is bizarre.'

Oh fgs it wasn't literally to protect it, it was to keep a lid on transmission so the nhs could manage the surge which was 5 times the usual amount of admissions even in a busy winter flu season.

We'd witnessed Lombardy's sophisticated health care system become overwhelmed. Ours did not, not at any point was anyone ventilated in corridors however that is never acknowledged by the deniers on mn.

And yet the NHS get overwhelmed by every single flu season. There are articles about an overwhelmed NHS from every winter the last several season. If a health service cannot deal with a regular flu season without getting overwhelmed it is not fit for purpose, end of.

My DM died from covid. I also think enough has been asked if our children now. The risk to a healthy child even if long covid is Minute and the vulnerable have been vaccinated. I am no longer putting their lives on hold when I have the choice. They are seeing friends and family. They have missed out in so much for something that is unlikely to impact them. I've also stopped the school from sticking sticks up their noses twice a week now. We need to live with it and yea some will draw the short straw like with every virus.

@Chessie678

Agree that the idea of a healthcare system which requires everyone to sit at home "protecting it" (and getting progressively less healthy as they do so) is bizarre. I certainly feel resentful about myself and my family ending up less healthy and worse off in every way for "protecting the NHS" when it has done nothing for any of us in the last year - though have nothing against the staff.

I am concerned that lockdowns have become normalised as a way to reduce pressure on the NHS. Healthcare systems will always, almost by definition, be at capacity and healthcare will always be rationed because you could throw unlimited resources at a healthcare system and it could still not be doing everything possible for everyone. Lockdowns can't be a permanent solution to that. We seem to have put having spare NHS capacity to treat emergencies as the absolute priority for society and the view seems to be that anything, however damaging, is justified to achieve that. Running out of emergency healthcare capacity would be very bad but I actually think that what we have done to prevent this is worse, particularly as it has partially been achieved by taking the NHS capacity to deal with chronic illness and shifting it to the acute, which probably hasn't saved lives overall.

And I still think it is completely unethical to damage the health, education and future prospects of a large number of people, particularly children, to protect a minority. We would never (I hope though who knows anymore) subject children to a medical procedure like kidney donation in order to benefit someone else's health so why is it ok to lock up children, increasing their risk of obesity and all the issues that causes (e.g. diabetes) and mental health problems plus exposing them to the effects of reduction in education, an increase in poverty, less money to spend on public services etc, to marginally reduce risk to others. And for each person "saved" by lockdowns, probably hundreds have been harmed in this way but because this harm is less acute than covid and may not show up for several years most people don't seem to care.

Brilliant post, sums up my thoughts exactly

And I work in an NHS service that isn't 'rationed' , you need it, you get it, regardless of the strain on the service. We see everyone from somebody in a homeless hostel to someone who lives in a 10 million mansion ( North of England, not London or SE ) and everybody who needs us inbetween. Long may that continue.

I quite agree. Don’t gamble with children’s health. That’s why mass vaccinations for children are such a worrying idea at present.

What is your preferred option? With no vaccination.
Keep isolating away from cases and taking that hit or something else?

Quite aside from the mental health impact on children of bereavement, if you care about children, you don't gamble with their health.

The impact of bereavement? Why would that be an issue when all adults have been fully vaccinated (a point we will be reaching very soon?)

@MarshaBradyo I would say that a significant proportion of young people are already immune given the number of outbreaks in schools, their close contact and the incidence of asymptomatic disease in young people. It would be interesting if the ons extended their antibody testing to young people.

[quote bumbleymummy]@MarshaBradyo I would say that a significant proportion of young people are already immune given the number of outbreaks in schools, their close contact and the incidence of asymptomatic disease in young people. It would be interesting if the ons extended their antibody testing to young people.[/quote]
I agree

'The impact of bereavement? Why would that be an issue when all adults have been fully vaccinated (a point we will be reaching very soon?)'

I think the pp is referring to the last year, some mn experts have decided our dc have been sacrificed you see. The poster was pointing out dc's mh would have probably been far worse if they'd carried on as normal and witnessed many more hospitalisations and possibly deaths of their loved ones. Makes missing PE and their friends seem a price worth paying tbh.

And yet the NHS get overwhelmed by every single flu season. There are articles about an overwhelmed NHS from every winter the last several season. If a health service cannot deal with a regular flu season without getting overwhelmed it is not fit for purpose, end of.

Well yes we have lived with a stretched and creaking health service for decades. It's always been a highly emotive topic of past election campaigns. It may well not be fit for purpose but it is our health service and all we have right now. There is no magic wand unfortunately to rapidly make it fit for purpose so we have had to take action to ensure it is able to treat any of us in times of emergency. As shown with the embarrassing Nightingales just increasing beds alone will not solve the problem.

Perhaps they should have spent more money in staffing rather than lining the pockets of their friends implementing systems that aren’t fit for purpose…

Makes missing PE and their friends seem a price worth paying tbh

twitter.com/PoliticsForAlI/status/1406724821090713600?s=20

Headline reads................

"Schools to weigh pupils over fear of obesity spike.

Checks brought back in primaries to reveal impact of lockdown"

I think they have got a fucking cheek after preventing kids from sports days PE and playing out by cordoning off parks all in the last 15 months

If missing PE etc is a price worth paying you then cant push the blame back on to children. Its emotional abuse.

And yet the NHS get overwhelmed by every single flu season. There are articles about an overwhelmed NHS from every winter the last several season. If a health service cannot deal with a regular flu season without getting overwhelmed it is not fit for purpose, end of

67 million people versus 141,000 beds, that was back in 2018/19 and that included general, acute, day surgery, learning disability, mental health and maternity beds. Acute beds which include some maternity beds was about 95,000. The number of beds has halved in 30 years and yet the number of patients treated has increased significantly as has the population.

It isn't rocket science, more musical chairs.

Remove the capacity from a service and at times when it is most needed it will struggle to keep up.

@MarshaBradyo

I quite agree. Don’t gamble with children’s health. That’s why mass vaccinations for children are such a worrying idea at present.

What is your preferred option? With no vaccination.
Keep isolating away from cases and taking that hit or something else?

Yes if need be. Personally I would rather repeated isolations for now for my 12 year old than gamble with an unknown vaccine risk to her. However, soon most adults will be double vaccinated. The incidence of covid and long covid on kids is tiny, many will already have antibodies

OntheBrink Ok fair enough.

I’d take the lesser of the risk between Covid or vaccination over continued isolation.

@bumbleymummy

Perhaps they should have spent more money in staffing rather than lining the pockets of their friends implementing systems that aren’t fit for purpose…

Money can't but staff that don't exist. There are around 37,000 vacant nursing posts which is almost 10% of the nursing workforce we need to run the NHS to current planned levels. These posts aren't vacant due to lack of funding - these are vacant funded posts. They are vacant because we don't have enough staff to fill them.

Where do you suggest all these extra staff are magically found?

'And yet the NHS get overwhelmed by every single flu season'

It really doesn't. There are winter bed pressures yes, but routine services and surgery continue and critical care does not have to have massuge surge capacity throughout the hospitals. Maybe the odd stay in recovery but with covid the excess was off the scale. That was without routine surgery continuing.

You'll be saying hospitals were empty next because someone filmed an empty waiting room.

'think they have got a fucking cheek after preventing kids from sports days PE and playing out by cordoning off parks all in the last 15 months'

Dc are obese because parents feed them crap not because sportsday was cancelled and parks were shut. Obesity was a huge problem well before covid.

“and deaths continue to increase.” No they don’t. Has anyone died from anything apart from ‘covid’ since 2019.
My aunt and uncle are considered vulnerable, neither followed the restrictions and both had covid and yes, were unwell for a few weeks, both fine now. Back to ignoring restrictions, they “have to die of something and rather it not be boredom”.

The rest of the world? Why restrict it to the U.K.? Maybe we should be offering incentives and ‘golden hellos’ to nurses/doctors/hcps to encourage them to come from other countries to work.

Possibly an unpopular opinion given the country’s vote for Brexit but just my opinion fwiw.

life is pretty much normal

It really, really isn't (unless you're incredibly privileged, perhaps).

@ChequerBoard not sure , but most of the nursing students I encounter are youngsters who are willing to take on the 60k debt for doing a degree for a job with unsocial hours and relatively poor pay and conditions and the pension that we pay 10% towards isn't that great anymore. Quite a few are looking to work in asthetics or abroad where they will get better pay and conditions.

Dc are obese because parents feed them crap not because sportsday was cancelled and parks were shut. Obesity was a huge problem well before covid

I see the left wing mask has slipped. You see a lot of this on here. People who pretend they care about poorer peoples health and saying they want lives saved from Covid. But the thing is they are not bothered about poorer people the ppl who deliver them things during lockdown catching Covid They are only bothered about them spreading it.

Obesity is linked to poverty. And even less will be able to afford feeding their kids healthier food now. But hey you can just keep shitting on those you see as serfs so all good

@TheVampiresWife I am not in the least bit privileged , what can't we do that you want to be able to do and that you have to be privileged to do ?