Page 2 | People who say 'We've got to learn to live with it'

Moonface123 · 10/07/2021 18:40

The sooner we learn to live with it the better, because this state of being in limbo , is only creating more fear and hysteria.
I absolutely cannot wait to move on, as l see it you have the ones that have had to carry on with some sort of normal, business as normal, like myse lf, no safety net or comfort blanket, no furlough, shielding, working from home etc, straight in the front line the day after first lockdown announcement, and mentally better for it. Then you have the ones stuck at home 24/7, glued to the news, isolated, and now frightened to death of ever leaving the house, and expecting everyone else to feel the same way.

markmichelle · 10/07/2021 18:43

To me, Living With It means that we should get back to a full business life and a much more active education for over 16s who will be vaccinated.
Universities must work harder at this.
The down side is that we will be ill much more frequently and employers should really make staff keep away if they have symptoms. Not as it has been with flu with people going in to work sneezing and coughing over everything. We might still have to wear masks and where possible not get close to people. Difficult on the Central Line at 08.00 am, wear masks, you know it makes sense. It gives some protection and it gives reassurance to others.

One of the priorities for pharma is a safe vaccine for children.

GoldenOmber · 10/07/2021 18:44

We can’t impose really onerous restrictions on people’s normal lives because of a variant that doesn’t exist. We do that because of emergency situations that are actually happening, not just because people have got a bit freaked out at the idea one might happen again.

Yes we do have to live with it. Improve NHS capacity (God knows that was overdue anyway), better efforts to vaccinate the rest of the world, yes. Expecting everyone to merrily carry on with masks and WFH forever just in case, no.

Topseyt · 10/07/2021 18:45

@Waveafterwaveslowlydrifting

The vulnerable are vaccinated now. Where does it end?

It doesn't end any more than flu has ever ended. That is why we need to learn to live with it, without continually locking down and trashing the economy and people's livelihoods.

I think that learning to live with it will mean getting used to it's presence in much the same way as flu, and having vaccine boosters for the vulnerable every year which have been tweaked to help with the most recent variants.

I have a flu vaccine every year. Having a Covid booster wouldn't bother me.

MargosKaftan · 10/07/2021 18:45

@ArseInTheCoopWindow - perhaps think how little the NHS matters to many people.

Its not that they are horrible or evil, just not people who have had to access the NHS all that much so don't see it as mattering all that much.

I know I had a period of 3/4 years when I lived in London and didn't need to access health care for anything other than getting the pill. Going years between using the NHS and never needing it for anything major is a pretty normal experience.

Theres been a few times over the years when our local hospital has been so busy they had to turn people away (generally the flu season), it has barely registered with me, because noone in my household needed to access the hospital nor had the sort of long term condition where I might have to worry they would while it was too busy to properly care for them.

I can see you'll say its selfish or short term thinking, but its honest that most healthy people just don't care enough about the NHS as a concept to prioritise it over all else. Hence why we have a Conservative government.

Usual2usual · 10/07/2021 18:46

We have been living with deadly diseases since time began, we don't spend our days worrying about measels (because vaccines) or smallpox (eradicated because of vaccines) or flu (which has new variants every year but - vaccines).

We went through a swine flu pandemic in the 2000's ffs and no one was demanding masks or social distancing then either.

So for me, living with covid means living the same as we did before Covid, just with one extra serious virus in the mix for which we need to be vaccinated.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 10/07/2021 18:47

Big pharma are continually looking into this. Just like the flu vaccine has to keep up with different strains every year so I can't see that happening

But they can’t vaccinate everyone simultaneously.

SonnetForSpring · 10/07/2021 18:48

@Mixmeup

People say this when they mean, 'I think we should ignore Covid, crack on, never mention it again and tough shit to the vulnerable'.

Before anyone asks, yes I absolutely believe we've got to learn to live with it. But my version of 'We've got to learn to live with it' means we've got to find a way to open up society, live our lives and deal with Covid better at the same time. Not just attempt to go back to exactly how everything was before and stick our fingers in our ears. I'm talking about continuing to work on improving treatments, rolling out vaccinations and looking at improving them, funding the NHS much, much better, improving ventilation in schools, working on reducing crowding in schools, encouraging hybrid working - etc etc. Why does 'learning to live with Covid' mean throwing all the restrictions out of the window rather than actually finding ways forward?

Completely agree.

WhenSheWasBad · 10/07/2021 18:52

Expecting everyone to merrily carry on with masks and WFH forever just in case, no

What’s wrong with wearing a mask on public transport or the supermarket? Most people can manage a mask for a short period with no difficulty (a small number can’t).

Also what’s wrong with an increase in people WFH? Maybe not 5 days a week, but 2/3 WFH days makes sense.

Sensible employee WFH a full 5 days one week because they have a horrid cold and don’t want to spread it. Sounds very sensible to me.

LilyPond2 · 10/07/2021 18:54

Great OP! I get really irritated with people trying to suggest that ignoring the existence of Covid and making no adjustments of any kind as a result of Covid amounts to "learning to live with the virus". That approach is pretty much the opposite of learning to live with the virus.

PandemicPalava · 10/07/2021 18:57

There are around 10,000 deaths a year in the UK from flu which we live with

WhenSheWasBad · 10/07/2021 19:03

There are around 10,000 deaths a year in the UK from flu which we live with

We vaccinate the elderly and vulnerable every autumn. We’ve recently started vaccinated primary pupils against flu to stop it spreading to vulnerable groups.

Even then the NHS frequently gets overwhelmed every winter with flu. We don’t just ignore flu and even then we struggle with it most years.

NHS is under resourced. It was before Covid, post Covid it’s in big trouble.

RevelWithRebels · 10/07/2021 19:03

I think most people do think that living with the virus does mean improving the NHS so it can look after all the sick...etc

But that's not something I can sort out. All I can do is not vote for the party that has gutted funding for the NHS (and schools) for a decade.

For the average person, living with it means going back to normal life for them, and being considerate to the vulnerable and the anxious.

Peppallama · 10/07/2021 19:06

I thibk the Tory version of 'learn to live with it' is actually let's exploit it to demonstrate the NHS won't cope until people back 'reform'

FeatheredHope · 10/07/2021 19:23

We went through a swine flu pandemic in the 2000's ffs and no one was demanding masks or social distancing then either.

Because not all pandemics are the same. For a start, Covid was a new virus which brings with it a whole new load of concerns. Plus swine flu killed 12,500 globally. Whereas Covid has killed 4 MILLION. Pandemic only means a disease prevalent throughout an entire country, continent, or the whole world not that the disease carries the same risk.

www.health.com/condition/infectious-diseases/swine-flu-vs-covid-19

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 10/07/2021 19:24

Swine Flu was a non event. It burnt out in about 6 months.

Sunshinegirl82 · 10/07/2021 19:29

@WhenSheWasBad

Expecting everyone to merrily carry on with masks and WFH forever just in case, no

What’s wrong with wearing a mask on public transport or the supermarket? Most people can manage a mask for a short period with no difficulty (a small number can’t).

Also what’s wrong with an increase in people WFH? Maybe not 5 days a week, but 2/3 WFH days makes sense.

Sensible employee WFH a full 5 days one week because they have a horrid cold and don’t want to spread it. Sounds very sensible to me.

I really hate masks and so only wear them for the shortest possible time. I really don't think masks being a permanent fixture is sustainable, lots of businesses wouldn't survive.

RaindropsOnRosie · 10/07/2021 19:29

@Waveafterwaveslowlydrifting

The vulnerable are vaccinated now. Where does it end?

All of the vulnerable except those who can't have it, won't have it or are children. So not all, just enough to make selfish people feel better.

Sunshinegirl82 · 10/07/2021 19:31

@RaindropsOnRosie

When would you consider it appropriate to lift restrictions fully?

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 10/07/2021 19:31

I really hate masks and so only wear them for the shortest possible time. I really don't think masks being a permanent fixture is sustainable, lots of businesses wouldn't survive

70% of the population support their continued use…

Sunshinegirl82 · 10/07/2021 19:38

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

I really hate masks and so only wear them for the shortest possible time. I really don't think masks being a permanent fixture is sustainable, lots of businesses wouldn't survive

70% of the population support their continued use…

We have a government that is incredibly populist and always tries to do whatever it thinks the "public" want. If there was good evidence that the majority of people supported continued mask use AND would use businesses (spas, pubs, restaurants, cinemas etc) to pre covid levels with a mask mandate still in place I really think they would be going that way. What would be the rationale for not doing so?

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 10/07/2021 19:42

Survey yesterday.

People who say 'We've got to learn to live with it'

GoldenOmber · 10/07/2021 19:45

What’s wrong with wearing a mask on public transport or the supermarket? Most people can manage a mask for a short period with no difficulty (a small number can’t).

Masks are a faff and a hassle for lots of people who can wear them. If they’re no bother for you, then that’s lovely, but I’m sure you’d agree we can’t tell everyone to do something based on your comfort levels.

Also public transport and shops aren’t the most high-risk places. If you want to target masks effectively, you need to be telling people to wear masks when meeting friends and family. Indefinitely. Tempting?

Also, there’s a reason that people weren’t allowed to cover their faces while in places like banks before all this.

Also what’s wrong with an increase in people WFH? Maybe not 5 days a week, but 2/3 WFH days makes sense.

Makes sense for YOU maybe. Makes sense for people working out of their bedrooms in shared flats? Living alone and desperately missing social interaction? For the companies who want everyone in the same room for all sorts of valid business reasons? Or who can’t afford to put in tons of videoconferencing infrastructure in every office? Or what if employees work with confidential material, as many of us do - ‘please tell your flatmate/boyfriend/flatmate’s boyfriend not to look over your shoulder while you’re typing from a shared dining table’? Or, or, or…

I’m not suggesting any of these things are as onerous as lockdown, but they have costs of their own. It’s not as simple as “well this wouldn’t bother me so why doesn’t the government make everyone else do it?”

Sunshinegirl82 · 10/07/2021 19:46

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/inews.co.uk/news/politics/ministers-ditched-face-masks-after-being-warned-the-economy-would-lose-billions-1089589/amp

Scottishgirl85 · 10/07/2021 19:48

OP, pretty much everything in your post IS happening. I work in pharmacy, believe me the vaccine work and treatment investigations will be around forever!
My work (huge company) have also introduced hybrid working globally that will be permanent.