Sick of narrative that lockdowns were pointless

[Bagzzz]

I think lots of people are forgetting quite how scary the early days were, overwhelmed hospitals and exhausted (and now a lot burnt out) medical staff.

Many mistakes were made and some things that might have have been avoided but we know with the benefit of hindsight.
Scientists if not politicians were doing their best.

Maybe could distinguish later lockdowns but they weren’t done lightly either, knowing it would affect mental health and business.

My grandad is 85 and thought it was outrageous that others, especially the young, gave up so much for the likes of him. As he says, he had the choice to stay in for his own sake, if he still got caught so be it - at that age something has to get you. It's nobody else's fault or responsibility.

It doesn’t matter which is worse, we are not in a competition with each other.

Personally, I don’t believe anyone should be expected to willingly drive themselves into experiencing suicidal feelings and extreme anxiety to save the life of a stranger.

By guilt tripping others with life and death stories, you are basically saying that the life of the physically ill person matters more than the life of the mentally ill person. You think that someone losing their mind is worth it because it kept someone else alive, except you’re not the one that has to live with that broken mind.

I’d rather take my chances with Ebola than face another lockdown. Death is not the worst thing that can happen to a person.

A lot of the elderly I know feel this way too. They were quite happy to stay home and wanted the young and working people to go about their lives.

@Cuppasoupmonster
@Proudofitbabe

which is a very empathetic attitude by them, however if they were seriously ill - would you expect an ambulance, and a hospital bed to be there for them - or would it be ok for them to have died at home without NHS treatment??
That was the issue - the strain on the NHS. A gracious person saying they don’t care if they get it - should not then die in an in humane way. They would need NHS resources - and the NHS couldn’t cope.

@MinkyGreen He feels that in order to sustain the NHS we also need a healthy functional younger population. If he was unfortunate enough to die at home of Covid he'd accept that's how it went. We've had the conversation, he's adamant.

I think the lives of young people are far more important than people who are 90. Surely it’s selfish of anyone to assume otherwise? If you’re already past average life expectancy, you’ve had your go.
why are we so scared of saying this? I remember someone on Facebook in lockdown saying their 94 year old mum who had had dementia for 10 years had died of covid and what a tragedy it was what did she expect? No-one lives forever. We have to remember that, as unpalatable as it sounds.

@MinkyGreen

They would need NHS resources - and the NHS couldn’t cope.

• *But the NHS is already failing to cope with the massive mental health crisis so we shouldn’t add more problems to that either.

Lockdown solves one problem but creates another that is equally as damaging.

I wouldn’t actually. At least, I don’t want an ambulance going to a 90 year old if it could be going to a very poorly child 🤷🏼‍♀️ equally if things got that extreme I would expect them to prioritise a toddler over me in my 30s.

@Cuppasoupmonster absolutely. Surely you’d always prioritise the youngest? That’s what I have always thought. I’m mid 40s, anyone who hasn’t lived as long as me would get my ambulance first, and I’m not even that old!

I always said that much of the hysteria, on here and generally, was because most societies just cannot accept death as part of the circle of life.

I’m surprised about the ‘it’s all very well having hindsight’ comments. I don’t think it took much intelligence to know even back then that paying billions of pounds to people to stay at home for months, shut down much of the economy, and avoid a virus that for the vast majority is a mild illness wouldn’t have huge, disastrous consequences.

The tiers system doesn't show how ridiculous the lockdowns were. It shows how ridiculous our politicians are. Lockdowns were necessary.

I don’t think a blanket policy of - don’t send ambulances to the elderly, don’t give them NHS treatment - would be acceptable really though would it. Despite what your grandad thinks.

Who said anything about a blanket policy of not giving them treatment? Just that in times of crisis they should be lowest priority. Why would you argue otherwise?

@Cuppasoupmonster im saying that just because someone chooses to be the lowest priority doesn’t mean that they should then expect to die coughing and in extreme pain at home, and that should be the expectation for anyone elderly or vulnerable. It’s inhumane.

No they should be given strong painkillers. What would you suggest, if there is 1 hospital bed, a poorly 90 year old and a poorly 6 year old? What would you do?

Thanks to the majority of the UK following lockdown rules, she got her treatment and is alive. ALIVE. To me that is the trump card - beyond anything. She gets to live another day

So let's ignore the effect on the mental health of millions and the blighted education of children, eh? not to mention an utterly trashed economy that will take decades to repair.

Lockdown made me so damned angry. Sustained psychological terrorism, lies, a govt that didn't even bother to abide by the rules and people rubbing their hands at the chance of dobbing in their neighbours.

@Buzzinwithbez Thanks. I'm very grateful for your support.

@Cuppasoupmonster i would support lockdown so there would be enough beds to cater for both. I wouldn’t support an anti lockdown stance where there are no beds, and the elderly or vulnerable are left to die without treatment at home as they are the ‘lowest priority’.

@MrsDanversGlidesAgain

i work in a primary school and have 2 primary school aged children. Is there a danger of a ‘self fulfilling prophecy’ here regarding their mental health. I can’t see that major irreparable damage has been caused to the children I work with. I think it would be pretty bad to assume that it has - and inflict that thought process on those children.

Lockdown now? As in today, because the NHS is in crisis? How long would it go on for? Who pays?

I hate the narrative of ‘how could we have known?!?’

WHO had a pandemic playbook that was honed through years of experience dealing with pandemics in developing countries. They specifically did not recommend travel bans or quarantining the healthy.

They threw it all out for a completely untested strategy.

The damage has fallen the hardest on the youngest generation, so the impact will be with us for decades at least.

And it didn’t have to be this way, they knew who was most affected once the cruise ship numbers were crunched.

They should have treated this like swine flu … some people are so mentally broken they can never go back to normal 😓

You won't like this but I don't really care - if it was my 90 year old Mum or a random kid I didn't know I'd prioritise my Mum, providing she otherwise had a good quality of life.

I don’t think they were pointless. I think there were many mistakes though and not enough regards to the negative impact of lockdowns. Overall I think the negative possibly outweighs the positive. Some of the mistakes eg having run down the PPE supplies and then throwing money at unusable products, a depleted health staff and services weren’t a result of lockdown. Possibly they actually contributed to the need for one???

The lockdowns were unforgivable to a lot of people including me. Poor mental health as a result, loss of businesses, people losing their homes, the unknown, young baby I had back then, being isolated and this affecting my marriage due to the stress it caused. For my mum, she couldn't go to her beloved mothers death bed (abroad) and then the funeral where she died of natural causes which she still says missing that made her ill in other ways as she couldn't grieve properly without experiencing the final goodbye. My childhood friend lost both of her parents due to covid in case anyone says "what about those who died of covid" yeah even she says the lockdowns made it worse not being able to jump on a plane and visit them in hospital when they were alive and not being there for the funeral and her younger siblings. I'm still very angry with the lockdowns. I respect those who needed it and should have been supported more instead of shutting the whole country down though.

The lockdown wasn't as simple as that. It was lockdown so that IF someone caught covid, they MIGHT become very* unwell with it and MIGHT *need hospital care.. forcing people into social isolation which is against human rights for these ifs/mights was barbaric.