Let's face it, they're letting it rip.

[ZednotZee]

Aren't they?

The vaccines aren't seemingly preventing transmission.

We are opening up on the 19th.

This is being done presumably as the public appetite for further lockdowns will be nil come October/November so best to get it over with now and have heard immunity come the autumn.

They won't say it but its becoming very clear that the immunocompromised need to continue to shield til the rest of us have contracted and got over the infection.

@Hardbackwriter

Genuinely, what do you think should be done instead?

Come on!!! Really? As if there was no other option available apart from ripping up all restrictions and non pharmaceutical interventions?

We have effective vaccines and so far have been pretty efficient at getting them into people.

But instead of living with pretty slight restrictions for maybe a month or 2 more and so keeping in relative control, basically we are letting it rip and crossing our fingers.

It's fucking stupid.

What else can they do? The vulnerable (so the ones who would put pressure on the NHS) have been vaccinated and are protected.
We can't have restrictions forever. Life has to go on. The effects of the lockdown are going to reverberate for years.

@sashagabadon

We do need herd immunity though. We need enough people immune to stop the virus circulating and it’s better now in the summer than in the winter when we’ll have flu to contend with too.

If only there were a safe way to get there that didn't involve infection 100k people with a potentially deadly virus.

You are correct Op
Another strain in Autumn so better let the public enjoy the Summer months

@Chillychangchoo

Yes. Common sense has finally prevailed 🙌.

You're relying on the common sense of the people who were fighting over bog roll in 2020.

I don't trust the general public to be sensible.

I don't disagree we can't live under restrictions forever. But I would have rather have kept masks in supermarkets and public transport for a few more weeks, at the very least.

I think they are op yes. But I think it is the only way really. We have got to get back to normal at some point, I'm fed up of worrying about it now. My son had covid last month, Delta variant, no one else in the house caught it, we took sensible precautions but didn't lock him up! If we are sensible we should be OK.

@Hardbackwriter

Genuinely, what do you think should be done instead?

Masks and SD in place.

No indoor mixing.

No holidays.

working in retail i assure you we are not prepared to put up with the mask situation any longer

its too hot for manual work with masks on. let alone the infighting amongst customers!!

@Nanalisa60

I’m really sorry for those who have immunocompromised adults and children, but the rest of us just have to get on with it!! COVID is going nowhere we just have to live with it , get vaccinated, probably have to have third jab in winter, but we can’t go on like this until every one is safe because we are not going to get to that position.

I agree with this. My aunt and uncle are in their eighties, both ECV and both had covid. They were poorly for a few weeks but are fine now. They wouldn’t isolate or follow the rules at all so I’m not surprised they caught it! They’ve both had their jabs and just want to live normally now. I wouldn’t be surprised if we have another lockdown in future, because some other mutant virus has reared it’s ugly head.

My concern is the sheer number of variants we are already seeing. So far our vaccines have been affectivr however I'm concerned that it is only a matter of time until a vaccine resistant mutation emerges then we are truly back to square one. The more cases we see the more chance of mutation. Personally I was happy to live with restrictions so that everybody including the clinically vulnerable could enjoy these freedoms too, however i do have friends and family who find it incredibly frustrating.

@TheVolturi

I think they are op yes. But I think it is the only way really. We have got to get back to normal at some point, I'm fed up of worrying about it now. My son had covid last month, Delta variant, no one else in the house caught it, we took sensible precautions but didn't lock him up! If we are sensible we should be OK.

The idea that giving up is the only way forward is baffling.

We have a vaccine. We get more people vaccinated. We use boosters if needed. We keep control of it.

This is not hard. We don't need to back to a full lockdown but abandoning even basic controls against the advice of just about every bit of scientific advice is just madness.

The bottom line is the government know there is little public appetite for further restrictions. They are simply giving the people what they want, and to an extent, need. There will be repercussions and I do have a great deal of empathy for CEV people, but this cannot go on any longer.

I don't get the ECV argument. Yes they are at greater risk of covid, even with a vaccine. But weren't they always at greater risk from any virus? How did they go about their lives before?

Genuinely interested, I don't know any personally.

You're pretty much guaranteed to catch covid, probably multiple times, throughout your life. It will be around forever, and circulate as other flu does, mutating regularly. This has always been the case, I don't understand what people expected? Once people are vaccinated, life has to go on. What else are we waiting for? The vulnerable will continue to receive boosters, as happens with flu vaccine each year.
Please assess your covid risk in relation to all the many other risks in life, that you probably don't even think about.
I do hope the vaccine can soon be given to CV children.

The bottom line is the government know there is little public appetite for further restriction

I’m not sure that’s true.

@SorrySoldOut

working in retail i assure you we are not prepared to put up with the mask situation any longer

its too hot for manual work with masks on. let alone the infighting amongst customers!!

Fuck me. But what do you think nurses do for 13.5hours a day while wearing a mask? It's not typing.

*Masks and SD in place.

No indoor mixing.

No holidays*

No way I am being dictated to as to who I can have in my own home. I ignored it last time, and will again (and it was one friend a fortnight, not house parties... before anyone calls me a granny killer).

The Government is giving the public bread and circuses - and false promises - for a few weeks because they feel they have to, and they know restrictions will have to come back in the Autumn.

So they have to let things go so badly wrong that people will accept those restrictions - both because they will have had their few weeks of fun, and because the stats will be SO scary that people will agree to some restrictions again. Poorly CEV children will be very useful poster fodder for this - they will be the sad faces in October or so, explaining why we need to accept restrictions again.

It really is 'now or never' - the Government knows that easing is only temporary, and they have decided that the cost of this particular gamble at this particular time is acceptable.

@DontDoThatGeorge A supermarket worker didnt choose to work in the NHS so didnt choose a career where mask wearing was likely. And its supermarket workers who have made sure shelves are filled so everyone can buy food including NHS workers. In fact they were prioritized by the supermarket workers you look down on.

@MumToBe1980

My concern is the sheer number of variants we are already seeing. So far our vaccines have been affectivr however I'm concerned that it is only a matter of time until a vaccine resistant mutation emerges then we are truly back to square one. The more cases we see the more chance of mutation. Personally I was happy to live with restrictions so that everybody including the clinically vulnerable could enjoy these freedoms too, however i do have friends and family who find it incredibly frustrating.

Me too.

A bit more transmissible, no reduction in virulence and with a bit more immune escape each time seems to be covid's evolutionary direction.

That can't be good for us.

And there's absolutely no indication whatsoever of it becoming "less deadly" or "like flu".

Totally agree

This is today's mask question (and results) on YouGov - just under 4000 respondents today.

They are.

But it's because it's better to let it run through when most vulnerable are protected on the whole and we are almost through vaccine programme for most.

Also because it's summer (apparently!) and so people will have windows open, be outside more and there is the natural fire break if schools being closed for 6 weeks.

It's more about allowing the peak now and creating a herd immunity whilst the nhs can cope rather than during winter as when we lift things it will resurge as we can't avoid that. And modelling shows that come winter we face a difficult flu and RSI season due to natural immunity to those waning due to face masks being worn last winter.

We are beyond elimination strategy and are doing a controlled strategy.

Zzz bored of people who want to be locked down for ever moaning