Is there any light at the end of the tunnel

[SummersBreeze]

I know a family who are down with covid for the second time in a matter of a few short months. March was the last time. I had covid last week and it's no picnic.

Covid reminds me of a cold that has married a flu.

This can't possibly be ideal to have a flu type of illness every few months.

I'm someone who's not able to get sick. I don't tolerate sickness well and I don't have time to be sick. I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve to help myself. I remember in the winter of 2019 many people arou D me got cold after cold but I avoided them. I looked after myself so much to avoid colds.

But I wasn't able to avoid covid. I dread to think what this will be like every 3 or 4 months.

There has to be some sort of a let up surely. The world and its people needs a break from this.

I can see that there must be business interests getting a bit twitchy about the thought of potential new clean indoor air requirements along with all those other annoying health and safety rules, and who see admitting the value of opening windows as the thin end of the wedge that might lead to corporate obligations to provide cleaner air generally. Given that, I'm not surprised to read narratives being pushed online that say oh, there's probably not much point doing anything, it won't make much difference, etc.

As ordinary people, though, every time we improve the ventilation when we're with other people, we reduce the chances of disease spreading. Regardless of the disease, that's a good aim to hang on to.

@LockAqua

Are you for real? They tried that in New Zealand didn't they! In a global market that's next to impossible

Firstly China has masses of cases locking people in their homes has not helped quash it . People are scared and hungry and life is miserable, two years and it’s still going on.

secondly if we don’t have an economy how will we pay for food, health care, education etc . I am no Covid denier , still wearing my mask etc but even the WHO has said that lockdowns don’t work . Covid is now here forever just like measles, malaria, TB, chicken pox , Tetanus, diphtheria etc

@whenwillthemadnessend

It is possible with a policy that prioritises human life over big business interests. Unfortunately in the UK we've chosen to prioritise 'getting back to normal' and 'drinks with the girls' over keeping people safe.

Even the first lockdown in the UK wasn't a proper one- people were in and out all the time, buying gin from shops and getting takeaway coffees.

lock I hate covid but honestly, your suggestion is utterly bonkers. Would you stop travel to the UK forever? Stop international tourism and families visiting?

hard lockdowns for months are breaking the Chinese.

even if we had a “proper” lockdown, life still has to go on for certain sectors such as medicine. We cannot now eradicate covid

I am starting to wonder how much good all this constantly analysing it all the time is doing, other than dragging it all out. ONS estimates, charts etc. As for people having it - I had it a month ago but honestly haven’t known of anyone else I know getting it at all in this wave, no friends/colleagues/friends of friends/family and their friends.

I honestly think nothing more can be done now than regular vaccinations and factoring this as a permanent issue that’s going to burden the NHS and increase NHS spending and capacity. The solutions so far have been too short term, assuming it would have buggered off by now.

But other than the few days I had it and the isolation period, I barely think about Covid at all now, other than when I scroll on here. The NHS needs sorting to be able to deal with it. But other than that no one seems to give a toss any more. I can’t remember the last time I saw someone in a mask. I don’t wear one either, nor will I be if they are allegedly mandated again.

Totally agree

I’d far rather be dealing with Covid than living in smallpox times.

We are in the middle of a pandemic. Did you think we would get to 2 years in, and suddenly there will be no cases?
It will become endemic, and that will be for years.
During that time, people will still get Covid and people will still die. There will still be waves that come and go.
What do you suggest we do?

I'm not sure everyone will catch it in the long term
I've still not caught it despite having both adult sons come down with it with the three of us living in a small flat, and I'm working in the office two days a week commuting by public transport.
Eldest son has only had it the once and he works in an office.

I think it's a piss take. The bit about most family events having to be on Zoom for a while has come up before!

The development of Omicron seemed to pretty much end this as a theory, because it raised the possibility of variants that have developed in a person over a very long time or from animals. So I tend to assume now people making that argument are on a wind up!

Everyone will most likely to be exposed to it. Some people appear to have natural immunity - so they are exposed and their bodies fight it off. Most likely still getting a t-cell and antibody boost.

Or lots of people will have had it asymptomatically and since we aren’t testing they don’t know.

For those saying about China. Maybe it's trolling or maybe not.

-people have been locked in their homes for weeks at a time

• at times even home delivery has been stopped
• children seperated from parents
• suicides
• young people dying because paramedics aren't allowed into apartment buildings because of Covid

Let's not encourage that sort of thing here.

It’s rampant in schools. My teacher friend is coming to the end of her 3rd bout. DD’s friend has had it 4 times.

My concern is productivity. It’s already shit due to Brexit, but people being ill every 3 months or so isn’t going to improve this.

but people being ill every 3 months or so isn’t going to improve this

While people can get reinfected, clearly, it's definitely not the case that significant numbers of people are getting it every three months, much less being out of action for a chunk of time every three months.

I wouldn't say my business is having more productivity issues since covid started, which I appreciate is anecdotal, but I've yet to see any conclusive data on this.

Teachers are catching it all the time. I think it depends on where you work.

Well it comes back to what the data is saying and I haven't seen anything that suggests any profession is getting infected and taking significant time off every three months.

I think the only way out of it is if pharma begin rolling out vaccines that are effective for a longer period of time. I believe Moderna are working on this. They need to be faster at developing variant specific vaccines too. I believe things will get better but it will take some time.

The main health policy is about minimising the impact on the more vulnerable, and the NHS. Is there any point (apart from the evergreen offer of initial full vaccination) to mass free boosters, when the less vulnerable can decide for themselves whether to get boosters privately? Likewise free masks/tests, which are now widely available. Given the scepticism over vaccines, masks, and distancing, provided we offer to protect the most vulnerable, the rest can figure out what works for them. Employers judge what measures suit them, staff vote with their feet. We hear here that covid has not impacted businesses; my GP has never closed shop and continues to use only telephone consultations, my dentist and favourite two fish and chip shops have been covid free having used K/N99 masks and only allowing one set of clients on the premises for the last two and half years. They've all coped well, prices have increased, and rightly so since costs have increased. They don't treat or serve people who don't conform, who can go elsewhere. Everyone sticks to their tribe.

The autumn booster offer to over 50s seems generous, perhaps lifting the age threshold to the flu vaccine's could pay for sniffer dogs at hospitals and other hot spots e.g. sell their services to schools that keep getting spikes if say the asymptomatic are not isolating. Dogs are unaffected by substandard swabbing, although they're so sensitive that they probably need retraining for every new variant. All covid positive electives would be more easily cancelled and emergencies treated along infectious disease protocols. That would free up the NHS to catch up on its growing lists with HCPs not infected by covid positive visitors. It could also shorten the time to mutate to a stable variant, thanks to the helpful sceptics.

As H L Mencken put it, democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard. I think that we "common people" have practical ways of getting on with life, so bring it on "good and hard". I think that's more of less where we are, although the generously low 50+ booster threshold is probably from lifestyle risks rather than age itself.