A lot about! Why not in press ?

[Righttherights]

Struggling with Covid this week and I’m hearing lots of others are too. Also heard of a care home closed to visitors as they have it. What’s going on? Old news ? Just supposed to treat it as a cold? I’ve felt like death! Really high temperatures, cracking headaches, vomiting - you name it. Got to make vulnerable really ill. Election more important?

It is actually listed as a news story on BBC news app / website
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ck5g2jk0730o
''Are we in a summer Covid wave?''
''According to this data, about one in every 25,000 people had Covid on 26 June.
This may sound a lot but it is a tiny number compared with what we saw at the start of the pandemic. In March 2020, it was one in 13.
However, rates of Covid go up and down throughout the year, without necessarily becoming a cause for concern.
Prof Paul Hunter, an epidemiology expert from the University of East Anglia, told the BBC he did not believe the current Covid rates were concerning.
“I think we're probably seeing about as much infection this year as we were seeing last year - a little bit less, but not hugely less.”
He believes that generally, we are seeing far fewer deaths and far fewer hospitalisations from Covid than last year.''

1 in 25,000 seems too low. On 27 June last year the Zoe survey reported there were 681,517 people with Covid (got the data from here: https://www.reddit.com/user/CovidStatisticsBot/comments/14kc003/270623_zoe_covid19_study_update/), which is 1 in 98 as the population of the UK is 66.97 mill. So not 'a little bit less'. Unless Zoe or my calcs are wrong.

The 1 in 25k is based on official testing figures, which is misleading and poor numeracy from the BBC, given that hardly anyone tests themselves for Covid anymore and even patients aren't routinely tested in hospitals. One figure that gives a measure of information is the hospital testing positivity percentage, though- the last time it was this high, prevalence was about 1 in 50 people infected. And there is definitely more Covid around right now than there was this time last year.

The quoted prof Hunter is saying something nonsensical and contradictory as well. If Covid really was as uncommon as 1 in 25k people, then it wouldn't be the case that we'd have to make peace with everyone getting infections all the time as he recommends, as 1 in 25k is pretty freakin' uncommon. (A disease is deemed as rare when it affects less than 1 in 2000 people.) Worth keeping in mind that this is one of the government's pet scientists that they used to justify Boris's early "pile the bodies high" stance.

I’ve just got over covid - I was symptomaric for 11 days from first symptoms and the first 4 of those I couldn’t get out of bed. I’m 37 and otherwise very healthy (though also 4-5 weeks pregnant). My dh was also pretty ill though not as bad as me, and kids had it mildly (luckily). Anecdotally there is absolutely loads of it about in London atm.

I've had every vaccine I've been asked to have and was still quite bad with covid
Off work for 3 weeks, had antivirals and was monitored on the covid at home ward thing
I rested mostly because I wasn't capable of doing anything else and I heard pushing yourself can also trigger long covid

I think the BBC was very clear that the official numbers of people testing positive for Covid are very low, but that those numbers are unreliable because routine testing has been wound down.
Professor Hunter wasn't talking about the faulty 1 in 25,000 number at all, just saying that he felt that current rates were looking similar to last year.

@ICantThinkofAnythingClever Thanks, that explains it!

@Metempsychosis The article said though "According to this data, about one in every 25,000 people had Covid on 26 June." which made it sound like it was a prediction of the prevalence of Covid based on the small amount of testing done. Not the actual number of positive tests. Well that's how I'd read it.

Are the tests still accurate with these newer waves? Does any one know? I have been feeling like utter shit for 4 days now, worse than any cold I've ever had, but tests are coming up negative....

Some people don't test positive till day 5 or later, and unfortunately at the best of times lateral flow tests miss about half of positives.

Accurate but less sensitive. So if you get a positive it's accurate, but there seem to be a lot of false negatives. People have reported not getting a positive LFT until day 7 or 8 of infection.

A Canadian Health Organisation did a how to do a really thorough LFT (RAT) - the top panel: oral & nasal one.

@CeruleanDive that's helpful to know. I'll do a throat swab with one in the morning....

I've had every vaccine I've been asked to have and was still quite bad with covid

You don’t say? Colour me shocked.

I heard pushing yourself can also trigger long covid

Really? Would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic!

You either have an amazing immune system or it wasn’t flu because I’ve been bed bound with flu for several days and then been very weak and coughing for weeks afterwards.

DC was hospitalised with flu last year as well.

VolvoFan · 29/06/2024 11:05
I get all what you've described with flu. And I've only had flu twice in my life. I was right as rain after 3 days on both occasions

A 3 day illness was highly unlikely to be flu. You most likely had a heavy cold.

It's not very interesting or newsworthy.

People get sick with things all the time. It's run of the mill now

How lucky.

Last time I had flu I was in bed for 3 weeks and my heating was damaged and I now have to wear hearing aids.

It’s a strain of a virus which will never go away, same
as as other strains.

It’s not novel or newsworthy any more.

I did read in the news there is a bit of a spike at the moment due to a new strain (more transmissible). But it's not something people are really alarmed by anymore is it? It's just another virus and most of us feel like covid anxiety is not something we wish to revisit. It all got a bit out of hand in hindsight, though I was very grateful to the scientists who developed the vaccines, the medical staff who worked on the frontline etc.

I’m recovering from Covid currently and my test was strongly positive before the liquid had even reached the control line on the slide. I’m on day 10 now and still showed a positive result yesterday, although it took a few minutes to develop. I’ve had antivirals as I take immunosuppressants for autoimmune disease. I have been really unwell, it’s absolutely horrible and much worse than the last bout I had in 2021. I had a booster in May.

Well given I've no immune system I was never going to be well with Covid but I wasn't in hospital or dead so I'll take that as a positive that the vaccines did something

Also why I rested so much (because I had a really high temp, breathless and didn't want to risk long covid on top of other health issues)

Stats are here but currently on hold due to election.
I imagine quite a few more now:
7 deaths though.

ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/

I tested positive yesterday, & took the test because I was feeling so exhausted. The line appeared almost instantly. I’m 50, fit & healthy (if that’s relevant).

Temperature, fatigue & aches, but also the skin on my palms is peeling & apparently that’s a symptom now too.

What is funny about that?