Is it now impossible to avoid?

[MrsKDB]

My feeling is that the cat is completely out of the bag now and we are all getting covid, with symptoms or without, at some point. I’ve expressed this to colleagues / friends who have agreed but a few have looked very shocked at the idea and seem to think ‘being careful’ means they won’t ever catch covid.

What do you think? An inevitability or possible to avoid for your entire life?

I think it's inevitable, at least for those of us who have school aged children. It's being allowed to rip through schools without any real mitigation. Tons of cases in my dd's school, so I reckon it's just a matter of time.

Maybe it will be possible for people without school aged kids to avoid it, especially if they work from home.

We're all going to get it.

I'm a teacher so a long time ago I had to put my anxiety over bringing covid into my asthmatic family into a box. So far none of us have had it if tests are to be believed. I teach early years so children climb on me and each other, lick things, breathe on me at close proximity so I've had to accept the inevitable. There are loads of teachers and children off with covid at my school. Maybe I'm actually naturally immune.

Give it long enough and everyone will get it, yes.

It's being allowed to rip through schools! I have it . Test and trace rang me today and said the same. They said in my area it is so high there is no way of escape basically!! I've never known it this bad. I know of so so many people now.

@AlexaShutUp

I think it's inevitable, at least for those of us who have school aged children. It's being allowed to rip through schools without any real mitigation. Tons of cases in my dd's school, so I reckon it's just a matter of time.

Maybe it will be possible for people without school aged kids to avoid it, especially if they work from home.

I agree that those without school age children could avoid it for longer but surely not forever now close contact isolation is scrapped?

Agree with the above. If you have no children, work from home and are able to order in everything you need and avoid public areas you might be able to avoid.

I'm enjoying theatres, cinemas, restaurants etc because I'm so exposed in my work anyway. There's no point limiting my exposure outside work and I feel I want to actually do stuff now and enjoy it working, having worked throughout. ( Before anyone asks I was in school during the whole pandemic).

Clinically vulnerable people have my sympathy. Staying in forever is no life.

I still don't expect to get it but I'm retired, small mostly adult family (no school aged kids) and everyone where I live still seems to be taking sensible precautions.

I agree that those without school age children could avoid it for longer but surely not forever now close contact isolation is scrapped?

Don't know. I know a few people who still aren't going anywhere. Their risk levels are virtually zero, I suppose, unless they get ill and need hospital treatment.

@Invasionofthegutsnatchers

Clinically vulnerable people have my sympathy. Staying in forever is no life.

I agree. And it is very, very scary for CEV like my dsis who has a child at school.

No. We will not all get it. Some people have natural immunity. Most people are double jabbed (doesn't protect you entirely but makes it less likely you will get it). I know households with children (so not isolating positive case) where family members haven't caught it - from people they were with 24/7. If that's the case how could we all possibly get it. Did you mean literally? I don't understand how anyone would think that possible.

Of course we will - it's like all colds and flu. We will probably all get it several times in our lifetimes as will all generations to come. What do people think, it'll just go back where it came from?

@ballsdeep

It's being allowed to rip through schools! I have it . Test and trace rang me today and said the same. They said in my area it is so high there is no way of escape basically!! I've never known it this bad. I know of so so many people now.

I feel the same way tbh. Our local paper reported on Wednesday that 1100 children in school aged 5-16 have tested positive since September 20.

We are testing Mondays and Thursdays at the bequest of the school and to be frank i am astounded we do not have it already. (Dcs aged 12 and 10)

@squashyhat

I still don't expect to get it but I'm retired, small mostly adult family (no school aged kids) and everyone where I live still seems to be taking sensible precautions.

So you’ll never visit a theatre / restaurant / use public transport again? In your whole life? Genuine question, I am quite amazed that it still seems avoidable at this stage.

@Invasionofthegutsnatchers

Agree with the above. If you have no children, work from home and are able to order in everything you need and avoid public areas you might be able to avoid.

I'm enjoying theatres, cinemas, restaurants etc because I'm so exposed in my work anyway. There's no point limiting my exposure outside work and I feel I want to actually do stuff now and enjoy it working, having worked throughout. ( Before anyone asks I was in school during the whole pandemic).

Avoid it for how long though? Are there really people who are planning on living like this forever? I don't really understand what the end date is.

Mine now have it. From school - we've not been anywhere else. I'm feeling worried for them and also just depressed, completely defeated and hopeless.

We were so careful. We couldn't have done anything more to prevent it - double jabbed (apart from the kids), washed shopping orders, avoided all crowds, wore masks all the time.

For people with kids in secondary school especially, some will manage to miss it just by luck, but because we're not told anything about outbreaks (discovered there has been an outbreak, but too late now), and there are no mitigations, it's just impossible to avoid without home schooling. Like I say, I feel depressed that this is allowed to happen. Or rather encouraged to happen.

@SummerHouse

No. We will not all get it. Some people have natural immunity. Most people are double jabbed (doesn't protect you entirely but makes it less likely you will get it). I know households with children (so not isolating positive case) where family members haven't caught it - from people they were with 24/7. If that's the case how could we all possibly get it. Did you mean literally? I don't understand how anyone would think that possible.

Ok - barring complete immunity. I’m double jabbed and was exposed 10+ times before contracting covid. Who knows why I fought it off successfully multiple times then succumbed. Immune system finally overloaded? Am not an immunologist (clearly!)

There's no point trying to avoid it by washing shopping etc. Go out and have fun.

We will all get it at some point, the lockdowns and other measures have never been about stopping covid, just making sure we get it at a rate the NHS can cope with.

@PaperDolphin

Of course we will - it's like all colds and flu. We will probably all get it several times in our lifetimes as will all generations to come. What do people think, it'll just go back where it came from?

Exactly.

Baffled why anyone would imagine they could avoid it forever. Surely it is just part of the range of possible infections you can get at any point in life along with meningitis, sceptacaemia, herpes, ringworm... List goes on and on. At best you can hope to avoid it for a while so when you get it, if you are badly affected the medical professions will understand how better to help you. Catching it in the early days was the greatest risk because if it was a bad case little was known about what to do for medical help.

I think the plan is herd immunity again. We are all supposed to get it. Those who are v vunerable have the "choice" to continue to lockdown, the hope being by spring, everyone else will have had it and it'll start to disappear. I assume that's the thinking, anyway.

So many cases in schools, nothing happens until it goes above 10% off at the same time with it. But then primary aged kids aren't testing regularly so if some are asymptomatic you wouldn't know you've hit 10%.

I have the week of my dcs half term and the week before off work. Loads of jobs planned for that 1st week, im fully expecting to fucking get it then when I really need to have some time to clear the decks!

Totally agree. I was admitted to covid ward twice with it and the general consensus there was most people who socialise / have children will catch it this winter. I was unlucky with it and suspect most will be able to fight it off at home.

Inevitable.

I know so many well asymptomatic people who did LFTs and it came back positive.

It really is everywhere.

So many people are spreading it without even knowing they have it.

At the beginning of the pandemic I was terrified. I am CV and genuinely thought I would die if I caught it. I became essentially agoraphobic for a year until May when I received my second vaccine. Since then my opinion has changed dramatically. It is now endemic. I used to think "if I just stay in a bit longer it will suddenly go away and everything will be fine" but it's become clear that isn't going to happen anymore. So I am just going about my life. I wear a mask on the bus and in shops but with three children in school and myself back at university, there is absolutely no way I will avoid it, and I am surprised I have managed to for this long! In fact after only two days back on my uni campus I have already been identified as a close contact. I don't think it's going away for a very long time.