Is the pandemic over for good?

[Ashleighz88]

Is the pandemic finally over for good? I really can't see it getting worse again now Or am I naive?

MN is currently colonised by a very vocal group of posters cut from the same cloth as U4T and the loony fringe of the Tory party. They are desperate to proclaim that the pandemic is over and that only the over-anxious care about restrictions, the vulnerable don't matter and that future variants will never be anything but mild.

We do not know what the future will bring. There will be more variants, there is no particular evolutionary impetus for it to be mild in future because it transmits before symptoms arise (doesn't matter how ill or dead it makes its host once it's moved on to the next)

We may need restrictions again in future, depending on what comes up. That's stuff for crystal balls - it'll depend on characteristics of the virus at the point and whether and how far it evades immunity.

And 'pandemic' is of course a global term. It's not over until the whole globe is safe enough. It's not a question of how much there is in one country at one time - NZ had no covid and life was restriction-free, but the pandemic was raging elsewhere.

You are naive.

We may need restrictions again in future, depending on what comes up. That's stuff for crystal balls - it'll depend on characteristics of the virus at the point and whether and how far it evades immunity.
I don’t think people will be suckered again.
Sure there will be a vocal minority clamouring for restrictions but most people understand that the hysteria and panic was misplaced.

No it's not over (never will be) but it is no longer an extreme threat from a public health POV and is unlikely to be again (though no guarantees).

As a primary teacher and parent of primary aged kids, it’s currently the worst it’s ever been in terms of kids getting infected. 1 in 6 kids in my class currently off with it and lots of staff too, meaning I’m currently having to cover lots of other classes as well as my own. My own kids’ school is also struggling. The sheer number of infections also means that child hospitalisations are the highest they’ve ever been, not that you’ll ever see that reported in the press. Other countries are vaccinating their children, giving them masks and ventilating their classrooms ( which are less overcrowded than ours). Our children have nothing - hence why infection rates are rising for kids. We’ve absolutely failed them, there is more disruption than ever and now we are getting reinfections too at an alarming speed.

@JangolinaPitt

We may need restrictions again in future, depending on what comes up. That's stuff for crystal balls - it'll depend on characteristics of the virus at the point and whether and how far it evades immunity. I don’t think people will be suckered again. Sure there will be a vocal minority clamouring for restrictions but most people understand that the hysteria and panic was misplaced.

This is exactly what I mean by the vocal U4T types

No it's not hysteria or panic. Just as it's not only the over-anxious who see why restrictions are periodically necessary.

But it won't be the same again because we collectively (and globally) have learned more about the virus and what measures are the most effective in breaking transmission chains. That wasn't known at the outset, because there had not been a pandemic of this scale in living memory. What we need to learn here is how to use the minimum of restrictions as effectively as possible to produce a reasonably predictable flattening/spreading effect, thus keeping excess deaths and the burden of sickness on society within the tolerable.

Omicron has showed us just how fast a new variant can move - look at a heatmap of number of cases over time and you'll see what I mean.

No definitely not , but most people are no longer hysterical. Except on mumsnet lol

For me it won’t be over until you can travel the world without restrictions or fear of having to isolate against your will.

Omicron is milder and they are hoping that future mutations will continue to get milder like in previous cases such as Spanish flu but there is no guarantee at this stage that it won't get bad again.

Not in Australia it isn’t. The death rate is sky high. At least 10 x what is was a few months ago. They keep telling it is less deadly, but the figures don’t support that.

Animals can be infected with covid so no amount of human vaccination will eliminate spread or prevent variants. We just have to hope new strains don't cause severe illness. Covid will be part of our lives for the forseable but our bodies will adapt to it and communities will work around it. It won't be as disruptive forever.

All the doomsdayers are praying it's not

@TheKeatingFive

No it's not over (never will be) but it is no longer an extreme threat from a public health POV and is unlikely to be again (though no guarantees).

I don't get this, avg 243 a day are dying from CV, 100k daily infections and 16k in hospital with it, which has huge knock on effects for elective surgery and visiting.

Plus there is zero reason to think that CV won't mutant into another vaccine resistant variant - plus the boosters are losing effectiveness after just a few months and it takes too long/uses up too many resources to keep vaccinating 10s of millions each autumn.

I don't think it's over but having weathered the Omnicron storm so far without serious restrictions I'm hopeful that lockdowns and school closures are a thing of the past.
I suppose this is all part of the process of "learning to live with it" and we'll get less and less interested in daily figures as time goes on.

Whether over or not, covid will have to be managed in England without much in the way of restrictions from now on. There simply isn't going to be the compliance.

The pandemic will never be over on mn.

@GiveMeNovocain

The pandemic will never be over on mn.

This board will still be here in 2040!

The hysteria is going over now, apart from a few on here, thank goodness

I don't get this, avg 243 a day are dying from CV, 100k daily infections and 16k in hospital with it, which has huge knock on effects for elective surgery and visiting.

No longer in danger of overwhelming the hospital system. Obviously covid management is an extra strain, but not one where significant public health measures are an appropriate reaction.

Plus there is zero reason to think that CV won't mutant into another vaccine resistant variant

Total vaccine escape has always been very unlikely and with much better treatments and new vaccine approaches coming down the tracks, the threat isn't huge.

You consume yourself with worry if you want, just don't expect the rest of us to come along with you.

While I 100% don't think it's over. I think in many peoples minds it is in the sense that we just need to get back to life as before and accept that it's here and will eventually become another 'flu'.

@VikingOnTheFridge

Whether over or not, covid will have to be managed in England without much in the way of restrictions from now on. There simply isn't going to be the compliance.

But it's people's compliance that means there's less need for restrictions moving forward. When rates are high people change their behaviour - they cancel bookings, reduce contacts etc. The problem is going to be the lack of financial support for business effected by behavioural changes not legal requirements.

@nocoolnamesleft

Nope. The pandemic is not over. The current common variant is less lethal, which is good. But it's been let rip through the population, which increases the odds of further mutations. Which may not be less lethal.

This is bollox.

It's over ! Yay!

@SomewhereOnlyIKnow

For me it won’t be over until you can travel the world without restrictions or fear of having to isolate against your will.

It's starting. Where I am all travel restrictions and contact tracing go at the end of next week, and mandatory isolation for positive cases goes at the end of March. Hallelujah, we're moving the right way.

But it's people's compliance that means there's less need for restrictions moving forward.

This is debatable but let's assume for a minute you're right. There still isn't going to be compliance. It's likely moot because we don't have a government capable of introducing them either, but even if we did, you also need a population who buy into the need and will observe them. We do not.

@UnmentionedElephantDildo

MN is currently colonised by a very vocal group of posters cut from the same cloth as U4T and the loony fringe of the Tory party. They are desperate to proclaim that the pandemic is over and that only the over-anxious care about restrictions, the vulnerable don't matter and that future variants will never be anything but mild.

We do not know what the future will bring. There will be more variants, there is no particular evolutionary impetus for it to be mild in future because it transmits before symptoms arise (doesn't matter how ill or dead it makes its host once it's moved on to the next)

We may need restrictions again in future, depending on what comes up. That's stuff for crystal balls - it'll depend on characteristics of the virus at the point and whether and how far it evades immunity.

And 'pandemic' is of course a global term. It's not over until the whole globe is safe enough. It's not a question of how much there is in one country at one time - NZ had no covid and life was restriction-free, but the pandemic was raging elsewhere.

Haha!!

Sorry to disappoint you but it's over - coronaviruses don't mutate in the way you'd wish they ALWAYS get less lethal. So we really are done worrying about covid

It's great!!