Why have people forgotten February 2020 ?

[DottyHarmer]

When Northern Italy was in a terrible state - dreadful scenes of overrun hospitals and over 70s were told to stay at home if they were ill because they were being deprioritised for beds. In China the situation (that we could see) wasn’t thrilling either.

And now we have people - posters on here - saying that there’s no point in vaccines “because they don’t reduce transmission” and people don’t get that ill anyway.

I don’t think the world shut down in 2020 for a laugh, and certainly not for some nefarious purpose to which so many were privy but has never been revealed .

I've not forgotten but I must admit I'll be a bit if the exact same solution of months of lockdown/no school/economy trashed is used nearly 2 years later with millions double or triple vaccinated

As I said, what I meant was people negating the role of vaccines and new medical interventions, not that we should return to lockdowns - heaven forfend!

But they're only "largely preventable" if we massively curtail our lives. RTAs deaths are largely preventable if we ban cars, but it is unreasonable to do so

I always think comparisons along these lines are fundamentally flawed as motoring (and accompanying RTAs) are not a free for all. For example, it is a legal requirement to take a test, wear seat belts and purchase insurance (together with age restrictions on driving).

@MyrtlethePurpleTurtle

But they're only "largely preventable" if we massively curtail our lives. RTAs deaths are largely preventable if we ban cars, but it is unreasonable to do so

I always think comparisons along these lines are fundamentally flawed as motoring (and accompanying RTAs) are not a free for all. For example, it is a legal requirement to take a test, wear seat belts and purchase insurance (together with age restrictions on driving).

This is sort of my point. Reasonable restrictions e.g. wearing seat belts, wearing masks - fine. Unreasonable restrictions e.g. banning cars, lockdowns - not fine.

We are not in the same situation as we were in early 2020. There's much more known about the disease and how to treat it if people do end up in hospital, there are treatments at home, plus we have vaccines that are making people far less likely to need hospitalisation. It's just not comparable.

I KNOW THAT !!!!!!!! It’s that people think that vaccines (or lockdowns) were not worth it because we didn’t all end up in hospital corridors battling for ventilators.

I believe it’s a bit difficult to evaluate lockdowns, and they are horribly damaging, but the vaccines have clearly reduced hospitalisation, but we have a rump of people who are ignoring this.

Op it’s a shame it has been misinterpreted as it’s brought the plague and lockdown posts instead ;

But yes people are quick to forget where we’d be without vaccines / boosters

I'm fully for vaccines. But I'm not destroying my relationship with the few family members who have refused to be vaccinated. I think they're selfish and I don't agree with their reasoning but at the end of the day it's their body. I sincerely hope they remain healthy.

I've never been terrified of covid and I'm not stupid or thick or whatever other term can get thrown at me. I haven't forgotten 2020. I just have perspective on what I can control in my life.

I'm statistically very likely to die of cancer at a relatively young age like my parents. I'm not terrified of cancer either. What is the point of going through life scared?

I can't control others actions, I can comply with restrictions and get vaccinated. There's little else I can do in RL. Shouting into the social media void just creates divisions and unpleasantness.

[quote aliceca]@5128gap the restrictions were never about saving elderly people or the disabled. If they had been elderly people with covid would not have been discharged into care homes killing many people. And disabled people would not have forcibly had DNA s put on their files with no discussion.

It has always been about stopping the NHS getting overwhelmed so they don't have coverage on the news of kids not able to get a hospital bed, or not able to get a broken bone set.[/quote]
It’s not dna and the current problem is the likely shortage of staff who will have to isolate with Covid. There may be no significant increase in admissions but they will die without staff to administer to them.
In fact all services will be effected. We may face food shortages if supermarkets can’t open or haven’t the staff to restock shelves. Shortages due to lack of drivers delivering goods.
Houses burnt down. Elderly that usually manage living independently struggling without their team of caters.
The list is endless.
Hospitals may be the least of our problems.
I don’t mean to sensationalise or panic, but this Covid wave is very different and without changing basic rules it will cause chaos.
The unvaccinated are playing Russian roulette and we can no longer act altruistically by protection them on a population level. It is like the seatbelt analogy, if someone refuses to wear a seatbelt in my car they don’t get a lift. They are on their own on shanks’s pony.

Sorry for typos I’ve run out of contact lenses and the Royal Mail are struggling to deliver probably due to staff shortages!!

for so long. Objectively I am worried about Covid, but not in the same way that I was because it's just been going on for so long now and it's not sustainable. A bit like we're all hyper vigilant in the immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack, but memories fade and we slowly become less aware of our surroundings the longer it goes after an attack

This. I worked in ICU through the pandemic, luckily in a covid "light" hospital and now work in theatre. When I was in ICU I had a canvas shopping back for my belongings which were all wipeable and uniform was chucked straight in the machine as soon as I got home. I went for a shower the second I got home and wouldn't go anywhere near my husband and kids until I was showered. I wiped down my steering wheel and the door handles etc. We had posters up with things to do before and after a shift like wiping the car down etc.

Now I'm just not at that level, I wear masks, wash my hands regularly, use sanitiser but I'm no longer so worried that I'm wiping down the car!

I used to think that most people were of average intelligence. What I have seen since Covid has shown me that there are a lot of intellectually subnormal people round.

Interesting but even back then looking at the data I said the vulnerable should be in total isolation no one in or out the house and I included the obese and elderly in that category. I said then the only way out for them was a vaccination or antivirals as I could see it becoming an endemic disease.

Even back then a lockdown for the healthy seemed a way to increase suicides and damage the mental health of a significant proportion of the population.

What I find shocking is that none of the vulnerable were offered the COVID vaccine in the clinical trial on a large scale early on.