Chris Whitty on long covid

[herecomesthsun]

"Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, has told the Local Government Association that rates of long Covid will increase significantly, and that this won’t be a trivial problem. He told the LGA:

Since there’s a lot of Covid at the moment and the rates are going up I regret to say I think we will get a significant amount more long Covid, particularly in the younger ages where the vaccination rates are currently much lower.

Fundamentally the two ways to prevent long Covid in my view are to keep Covid rates right down and make sure everyone is vaccinated so they get very mild disease and I think we really just need to push hell for leather for those two.

The deaths from Covid I think are mercifully going to be much lower in this wave compared to the previous ones as a proportion of cases but long Covid remains, I think, a worry.

We don’t know how big an issue it’s going to be but I think we should assume it’s not going to be trivial."

from here www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2021/jul/06/uk-covid-latest-updates-sajid-javid-new-cases-100000-per-day-summer-boris-johnson

Fundamentally the two ways to prevent long Covid in my view are to keep Covid rates right down and make sure everyone is vaccinated so they get very mild disease and I think we really just need to push hell for leather for those two.

These two points really go against the idea of removing all restrictions when we don't have everyone who wants to be doubly vaccinated

yeah I get the impression he didn't come up with that gem of an idea himself

@herecomesthsun

yeah I get the impression he didn't come up with that gem of an idea himself

for sure, but I was surprised at how genuine he seemed about it being the best way forward in the press conference

The whole thing is an absolute mess. I think they are trying to appease people because the public is fed up of restrictions and they are also trying to time this wave so not to clash with autumn but I have a feeling there will be some u turns coming either from the public or government or both. It feels like the government are basically saying, ok let's see what happens with no restrictions....

Whitty and Vallance both made the point, in the press conference, that masks are to protect others more than the wearer.

So "assessing the risk" to yourself is not the way to go.

I thought they did their best to convey caution without actually contradicting Johnson.

@SonnetForSpring

The whole thing is an absolute mess. I think they are trying to appease people because the public is fed up of restrictions and they are also trying to time this wave so not to clash with autumn but I have a feeling there will be some u turns coming either from the public or government or both. It feels like the government are basically saying, ok let's see what happens with no restrictions....

agreed, I find it hard to comment because it's such a mess

i really disagree with this idea Johnson kept floating of "if we don't open now we never will" (paraphrased), but don't have energy to rant about it

NHS Trusts hoped to use the summer to catch up on non covid work, and to allow front line staff some respite. The government has stuck two fingers up at that idea, the economy is all that matters to them now.

Profit before people. The Tory way.

This government doesn’t care about the youngsters. Probably because they’re totally detached from reality. Somebody needs to point out to these jumped up posh boys that down in the real world, teenagers are working in public facing roles and then going to school. They have younger siblings in other schools. Because none of them can get driving tests now, they’re using public transport.
They have no vaccines on offer and the risk is now their’s through no choice of their own. God help the poor CEV kids who have no chance of a vaccine yet and their schoolmates are now becoming an even greater risk to them.
It’s appalling.
My DD apparently has Long COVID. It’s been so devastating that I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
Although maybe I would wish a week of it on a few government ministers, so that then they could maybe engage their brains and think about the risk our young people are now being forced to take.

I worry for my Ds - he is now on his second dose of covid and can't get out of bed at the best of times. Really worried how it will affect him long term.

I think what they were saying is if they wait until everyone is vaccinated to open up, it’ll be autumn and that would be worse because the wave would likely be bigger due to the weather and nhs dealing with winter viruses like flu.

So whitty was saying it’s best to open up now and get it over with in summer. If we didn’t do it now we wouldn’t be able to open up until next summer, and I guess they also have to balance this with the fact that a lot of businesses just couldn’t carry on much longer. The economy IS important too for people’s health and well-being.

I had a friend at school who had post viral syndrome after glandular fever and it absolutely blighted his life.

He didn't come on to university with us and his girlfriend eventually moved on. He never went back to all his sports. He lost time and confidence as well as his health.

I don't want that for my kids. Captain of the team to in bed for two years because of a virus.

The more cases, the more of our kids get Long Covid.

They're not creating 15 specialised long covid clinics for no reason. They will be needed.

Glad this has been brought up, it struck me as really odd that we as a nation had cases on the rise but were still removing restrictions??

This doesn't make any sense logically unless the government have gone back to a herd immunity strategy. (They want people to catch it) this would also fall in line with the new measures of not self isolating if you've had two jabs and have had exposure to someone positive.

The difference now with the HI strategy as before is as majority of vulnerable people are now vaccinated as it sweeps through the country serious illness and deaths will be fewer so the NHS is more capable of coping.

What worries me is they aren't informing the public enough about their strategy and the risk. Having two jabs especially for the vulnerable doesn't make you immune and doesn't mean you aren't contagious.
Where as I have seen people acting as if Covid no longer exists as soon as they have been double vaccinated.

Also scientists don't seem to have any understanding on the impact of Long Covid - all these kids catching it and passing it around - with no class room restrictions any longer there will be many more Long Covid cases in the younger generation - which no doubt will have a severe impact on the NHS in years to come.

No government adviser has ever said the vaccine is 100% effective.

God what hideous twats the government are.

@PrincessNutNuts this is my DD. We don’t recognise the life or prospects she is currently facing compared to what she had a year ago.
The schools have no information on this either. The exam boards are brutal; couldn’t care less, so school mimics this. Psychologically she is destroyed because her memory and physical strength is so poor that teachers assume lazy. Instead of support, she gets reprimanded and asked to drop A Levels.
I get driven insane by people claiming COVID is nothing for the young.
As for “open up now or we never will”. That is lazy and unimaginative planning. Typical Whitehall nonsense spouted by a bunch of middle aged, vaccinated men who won’t be suffering the impact of Long Covid and even if their kids did, the hidden away wife or paid for nanny would be bearing the brunt and the family money would be supporting them.

It's never been just about death. It's a new disease (potentially lab engineered) and just 'letting it rip', letting the bodies pile up, failing to suppress and contain, was always a gamble with long term health.

The government's focus on the economy needs to take into account the longer term impact of many disabled by Long Covid.

For the NHS (and anyone needing its care) it's a disaster. Not only the extra burden, potentially over many years, but also the impact on staff. Healthcare staff have been hit hard by Long Covid. Adding to staff shortages at a time of increased demand.

It would be sensible to follow scientific and medical expert advice, including the WHO, on mitigation measures for opening up society. Simple and easy things that don't stop opening up, but in actual fact help. Like masks.

So sorry for your poor dd @Lupinhere37

It's very wrong if patients are having their symptoms dismissed. Hopefully more attention will focus on Long Covid now that Chris Whirry has acknowledged it.

Have you been able to get her a referral to a specialist clinic? Not all of them are up and running yet, but hopefully they will be soon. Including paediatric for children under 18.

I really hope things improve for her soon, and hope she gets the support and understanding that she needs and deserves.

Thank you @Tealightsandd. No specialist clinic as yet but luckily the GP is now taking things seriously because of the array of significant symptoms and the crippling depression that just manifested from nowhere. So we’re probably quite lucky in many ways.

for sure, but I was surprised at how genuine he seemed about it being the best way forward in the press conference

But he did also wheel out the ‘scientists give the advice, government make the decisions’ line he hasn’t used for a while. Which is definitely code for not agreeing with the government position.

Lupin sorry to hear about your DD. Hopefully some of the long covid research that’s going on can provide some answers soon.

Really uncomfortable with the experiment we are running in children’s health here. And the nature of an airborne illness means that you can’t exactly opt out of it easily.

[quote Lupinhere37]@PrincessNutNuts this is my DD. We don’t recognise the life or prospects she is currently facing compared to what she had a year ago.
The schools have no information on this either. The exam boards are brutal; couldn’t care less, so school mimics this. Psychologically she is destroyed because her memory and physical strength is so poor that teachers assume lazy. Instead of support, she gets reprimanded and asked to drop A Levels.
I get driven insane by people claiming COVID is nothing for the young.
As for “open up now or we never will”. That is lazy and unimaginative planning. Typical Whitehall nonsense spouted by a bunch of middle aged, vaccinated men who won’t be suffering the impact of Long Covid and even if their kids did, the hidden away wife or paid for nanny would be bearing the brunt and the family money would be supporting them.[/quote]
God, you'd think those organisations would have support mechanisms in place wouldn't you?

The government and the NHS seem to know the extent of the Long Covid wave to come - which is why they are setting up all the specialist clinics.

And post viral syndrome after glandular fever still happens - just not on the scale of long covid.

I'm so so sorry.

If it helps at all, my old school friend has a job and a wife and a family now, and as far as I can tell from a quick Facebook stalk, looks happy and well.

And your DD has you. That's a big help. We know a poor lad whose parents decided he was just being "lazy" and it must be ten times worse feeling dreadful and your own parents don't even help you or believe you.

It's going to be such a big global issue I hope the full might of global science will be brought to bear on the topic. Like with the vaccines. Fingers crossed for you.

I almost get the feeling he wants to push the NHS to collapse, so he can charge in and privatise it on the back of the pandemic and "necessity ".

@PrincessNutNuts So pleased to read this. A parent that actually considers the future and what may happen if their child gets long covid.

Mine has had it, 16 months in, she is 9 years old FFS!! She is much improved now but cannot participate in sport still after being a cross country star and on swim team. This is going to be a huge problem for so many and I am so sorry for anyone else that is going to parent a child with this.

I agree with schools being open but removing all restrictions and letting it 'let rip' for the younger generations is abhorrent.

@Lupinhere37 I'm so sorry for you DD and you.

Another factor is that nobody knows how long the vaccines protect you for. There is an on going study, but no 9ne knows for definite yet. I read that they think they last between 8 months and 2 years. If it is only 8 months, the elderly and most vulnerable will not be protected for much longer, as the jabs started in January. There is talk of boosters starting in September though. Hopefully the vaccine does last for longer or we're all going to need boosters and what will happen while we're waiting for them?