Another 5 yesrs?

[refraction]

SAGE had said ths covid situation may last another 5 years. The NHS may struggle for this long.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nhs-will-be-plagued-by-covid-for-at-least-five-years-7v90l05l6

Really? It just feels like at this moment. It will never be ' normal' again.

If this is going to be ‘life’ for the next five years then it’s not much of one. I’m against mandatory vaccinations but then again I don’t know how else we can get out of this situation, as most people with Covid are unvaccinated.

Obviously mental health crisis will get worse but mental health has never been taken as seriously as physical health.

5 years, and yet in the summer I was accused of spreading doom because I dared suggest we’d face restrictions as we headed into 2022 🤔

Personally I think until we have a complete cure (that eradicates the virus entirely) then we’re stuck on this hamster wheel for the duration. We may think we can carry on as normal but the reality is our normal creates too many opportunities for Covid to thrive in.

at least a further five years for Covid-19 to settle to a predictable endemic state” — where the virus lingers in the background but does not threaten to rapidly overwhelm the health system

Couldn't read the whole article. If they know this, then what are their suggestions for funding and measures that will mitigate the impact on the health system in future Winters ?

‘ If this is going to be ‘life’ for the next five years then it’s not much of one. I’m against mandatory vaccinations but then again I don’t know how else we can get out of this situation, as most people with Covid are unvaccinated.’

Life is what you make it, you should feel grateful you’re alive, you can go shopping, go out for dinner, even clubbing, can go abroad, you can see family and friends.

What more do you want? To have these things from now on it’s going to take a bit of give.

Just read a thread about someone getting the news they have cancer.
Do you follow tiktok? A popular lady recently died age 37, of cancer leaving 3 kids behind.
I lost my own brother last year who was the same age, from something fairly common medically that just went from minor to major.

Such a shitty thing to say.

@Fuckinellitsme the government has really let people like you down and I’m so sorry.

If Covid vanished from the planet tomorrow, the NHS would continue to struggle and for a lot longer than five years.

True dat!

@Staryflight445

I never said they can make it disappear. They could have slowed sit down though and saved many people the travel worry over Xmas.

Everywhere has the new variant.

It’s here and in other countries before you get a spike elsewhere.

All countries will be hit hard not just U.K.

Many are still seeing Delta wave which will compound it

@Staryflight445

‘ If this is going to be ‘life’ for the next five years then it’s not much of one. I’m against mandatory vaccinations but then again I don’t know how else we can get out of this situation, as most people with Covid are unvaccinated.’

Life is what you make it, you should feel grateful you’re alive, you can go shopping, go out for dinner, even clubbing, can go abroad, you can see family and friends.

What more do you want? To have these things from now on it’s going to take a bit of give.

Just read a thread about someone getting the news they have cancer.
Do you follow tiktok? A popular lady recently died age 37, of cancer leaving 3 kids behind.
I lost my own brother last year who was the same age, from something fairly common medically that just went from minor to major.

Such a shitty thing to say.

And its attitudes likes yours, lacking in empathy, that means that mental health will always be the 'poor relation' to physical health.

[quote Staryflight445]@Fuckinellitsme the government has really let people like you down and I’m so sorry.[/quote]
Oh definitely. I have nothing but disdain for the way they've treated everyone throughout, not just the vulnerable.

Ultimately though I'm not sure much else can be done for the CV, unless everyone is in perpetual lockdown to keep us 'safe'. I don't want everyone to have to live the way I am, it's shit enough that I have to.

I don't know what the answers are. I'm not sure there are any, really.

Thank you for your kind words though

Life is what you make it, you should feel grateful you’re alive, you can go shopping, go out for dinner, even clubbing, can go abroad, you can see family and friends

If you're vulnerable you can't do any of these things (well, you can, but it's against the advice of your medical team and you know you run the risk of catching something which will kill you).

The idea of living the next five, ten, 20 or however many years this is going to last the way I am now means that actually, I'm not that grateful to be alive, however awful and self indulgent that may sound. Another 5 or 10 years of going nowhere except the supermarket (and that, against advice), of being stuck in the house because I can't use public transport, of no trips or holidays, of never seeing a band live again or going to the pub on a Friday evening or having any contact with the outside world, is just completely and utterly soul destroying. And the people I live with are affected too - DH can't go into the office because of me, for example. You can't change what CV people are living with but at least have the awareness not to make comments like this.

Ugh. Sorry to moan, I'm just having a really shit morning.

@Thewiseoneincognito

5 years, and yet in the summer I was accused of spreading doom because I dared suggest we’d face restrictions as we headed into 2022 🤔

Personally I think until we have a complete cure (that eradicates the virus entirely) then we’re stuck on this hamster wheel for the duration. We may think we can carry on as normal but the reality is our normal creates too many opportunities for Covid to thrive in.

Yep and right back at the beginning when some of us said we just need to adjust our expectations with this 'new normal' , we were shrieked at as getting joy from all the doom and gloom. I'm not, I've just been realistic about how the world has shifted.

Personally I think until we have a complete cure (that eradicates the virus entirely) then we’re stuck on this hamster wheel for the duration

I think until we have something that can be prescribed prophylactically by GP's for those vulnerable to severe disease, we might struggle to get back to 'normal' normal. When you think of the advancements that have been made over the last 18 months or so and the amount of money and resources being thrown at this problem, that scenario may happen sooner than 5 years ?

@SoOvethis

I am not sure why anyone is surprised by this. A lot of people have thought this from very early on - that there is practically no end in sight…and they have been called all sorts of funky names. Although I do genuinely hope it’s an exaggeration and that all those who believe that there is not a bigger picture than what we see are right! Only time will tell

Yes, back in March 2020 they were called crazy conspiracy theorists!!!

Not so crazy anymore!!

Back in March 2020 I started a thread titled 'Is this the end of the world as we know it?'

Oh the ridicule I received...

I don’t know. We don’t have many restrictions do we? Apart from the ones people are choosing to impose on themselves?

Masks, understandable. But only in shops and public transport? And school corridors?

If you wanted to go to a nightclub you could. If you wanted to go to a gig you could.

If you wanted to travel you can. A bit more hassle and certain countries off the table but I’ve been abroad twice this year.

I think the fear may last 5 years. And that will have an impact on many lives.

But we always knew there would be variants and the plan was never endless restrictions.

Quite soon we may actually stop testing healthy people. That’s on the government’s plan. Not restrictions for 5 years. Sage are not the government.

Yes, back in March 2020 they were called crazy conspiracy theorists!!!

Not so crazy anymore!!

The gleeful tone of all these 'told you so' posts is sickening.

Most people said in response to the 'life will never be the same again' posters (quite rightly) that there was no way of knowing how things would pan out. The ones that said life would return to normal were probably doing so given the evidence from previous pandemics that pandemics do come to an end, and vaccines and therapeutics are found. At a time when there was so much fear and uncertainty the doomy posts did not help and they still don't. And neither do the crowing, exclamation mark 'we were RIGHT!!!' posts.

Fact is, you still don't know if you're right. Nobody does.

@justaskingagain

Back in March 2020 I started a thread titled 'Is this the end of the world as we know it?'

Oh the ridicule I received...

And quite rightly, to be honest.

I notice (sadly) the good news mega-thread disappeared some time ago. If you are too worried about this and it's affecting your mental health may be time to get off covid forums and doom scrolling. I think we all know what we need to do to protect ourselves the best we can now.

@Fuckinellitsme

Yes, back in March 2020 they were called crazy conspiracy theorists!!!

Not so crazy anymore!!

The gleeful tone of all these 'told you so' posts is sickening.

Most people said in response to the 'life will never be the same again' posters (quite rightly) that there was no way of knowing how things would pan out. The ones that said life would return to normal were probably doing so given the evidence from previous pandemics that pandemics do come to an end, and vaccines and therapeutics are found. At a time when there was so much fear and uncertainty the doomy posts did not help and they still don't. And neither do the crowing, exclamation mark 'we were RIGHT!!!' posts.

Fact is, you still don't know if you're right. Nobody does.

Nothing gleeful from me. It's shit and I f*cking hate the way I live my life these days. I hate the impact on my kids and their education. But most of all I hate the way this country has become so incredibly selfish. It's all about the freedom of the individual rather than working together as a society to ensure we get through this safely.

My world has changed completely since 2020 - my job, my social life, my financial situation. Glee? Far from it.

Nothing gleeful from me. It's shit and I fcking hate the way I live my life these days. I hate the impact on my kids and their education. But most of all I hate the way this country has become so incredibly selfish.*

It is as awful as you say but I don’t think we are selfish.

@MarshaBradyo

Nothing gleeful from me. It's shit and I fcking hate the way I live my life these days. I hate the impact on my kids and their education. But most of all I hate the way this country has become so incredibly selfish.*

It is as awful as you say but I don’t think we are selfish.

I think you might change your opinion if you saw the number of people who have continued to go mask-free on public transport in London.

There are genuine exemptions to mask wearing but many are not - which makes it so hard for those who have genuine reasons.

You don't see this in other countries. France, Spain, Italy - people wear a mask - even kids in school. They may not like it but they get on with it because it benefits society as a whole.

No glee whatsoever from me either.. in fact I would much rather be blind to it all & hanging on SAGE's every word.. believing everything Boris says but I can't..

I have been through shit in my life including child loss but the past 2 years has been the toughest on my mental health, the isolation during lockdown as a lone parent nearly finished me off... the financial devastation of being on furlough for practically 2 years is huge, I'm still on reduced hours because my boss can't afford to give me back the hours I was working pre-Covid, as it stands today I have £3.05 in my account.. 2 children to feed & still got some Bills to pay next week!!
Yes, I'm lucky I haven't lost anyone to Covid or something else & Covid put on their death certificate but life is far from gleeful & the thought of this not ending for years is making many people wonder if it's worth living!!

Unfortunately it’s the impact of the restrictions that
will be having devastating impacts on livelihoods for years. Not the actual virus. So it’s our response to the virus.

When faced with a novel virus you need to react with restrictions. It shouldn’t be an issue 5/6/7 years later as the virus is not novel anymore.

I say this as someone who has just lost another 2 weeks of work due to having an asymptomatic child at home. Who did not spread it to the rest of the family despite no distancing.

In April or whenever testing stops this won’t happen. We won’t be testing and isolating healthy people.

Yes, I've read 2026 in a few different sources.
5 more years.
Great.

@TheBabyBoo

UK tried to rush “back to normal” far too quickly.

I agree. I think it will be 5 years total, so another 3. Based on nothing scientific tbh.