This is unreal - the new variant - anyone have it

[GreenPebbles]

I am not ill and I don't have it. I had COVID in the summer and I know it's likely only just around the corner again.

Did anyone have COVID recently? How was it?

I came across this on twitter. Apparently there's a new variant called XEN.

It looks a lot like the original Wuhan variant. It appears as if people are getting better and then by the second week there is respiratory distress.

I mean like WHAT THE HOLY FUCK?

I mean like how can this be allowed to spread if this is happening?

Ventilation is important but I also think there should be a strong health and hygiene campaign. I went to a function, I think two years ago and there was someone at out table who was clearly unwell and coughed his lungs up at the table for all of us to catch whatever he had. There was no attempt to catch germs by coughing/sneezing into his elbow. Just right on our into the open. There should be TV adverts on TV showing people how to maintain health and manners. Also public bathrooms - you see it time and time and time again - people walking out without washing their hands, or only just throwing their hands under a tap for a few seconds, or just a quick run with soap - hand washing is very poor in the population. There should be TV adverts showing people how to wash hands properly.

No, there will always be some people more affected and some less affected but because of the huge size of the population this will still amount to a very large number of people being significantly affected ( eg long COVID, getting it several times a year, being hospitalised etc). This means that we still need to respect the effect of the virus and take some actions to minimise spread. We can't just say - well I'm not affected nor anyone I care about ( so far) so we don't have to do anything. Well we could say that I suppose but only if we don't care about the population as a whole.

At the moment Covid is more dangerous than flu because it has not been in human hosts for very long and we've not go as much immunity etc. In time I think it will be more like flu and we will be able to tweak vaccines every year to reduce effects/ spread. However, because of the vaccines we already have and people having had it and having better immunity than originally, it is not as dangerous now as it once was, but it is still something significant we need to pay attention to.

So, if 10% of the population gets long Covid that means on average 3 children in each class will get it at some point. So it makes sense to take precautions to reduce spread. Eg children not going in to school with COVID, good ventilation, no overcrowding etc.

I'd also say that if people have COVID they should stay at home as much as possible for the first 5 days. Schools and employers should accommodate this as on average it will mean less spread, fewer people affected, less chance of people being off for longer periods with complications.

Is also say that if you have COVID and need to go out, then wearing a good spec mask would be a socially responsible thing to do.

I would support air purifiers in each classroom to be honest. It would be a few hundred pounds per classroom but would really reduce the level of spread. It would also improve attendance because it would help reduce spread of other viruses.

It isn't just " do lockdown or do nothing" there are intermediate easier things we should be doing in my opinion.

There should be TV adverts showing people how to wash hands properly

There were lots during covid

Eg children not going in to school with COVID, good ventilation, no overcrowding etc.

Sadly government guidance is to go to school with covid if symptoms are mild 😕

Cold hard facts from official statistics can be exceptionally contradictory. For a start, what makes them official? Government official? NHS official? DWP? HMRC? What happens when different surveys and stats show different results? People make up their minds based on statistics, what they see, what they experience and what others experience, and critically reflect on all these things to come to an opinion.

Since you like official stats though, here is one for over 5 million pounds lost in benefit fraud in 2024.

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2023-to-2024-estimates/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-ending-fye-2024#:~:text=The%20Universal%20Credit%20overpayment%20rate,4%2C930m)%20in%20FYE%202023.

Mitigating measures taking?
Hahahah, sorry but get a life!

What a fucking idiotic response to a long and detailed post 🙄

Mitigating measures can be as simple as opening a window or encouraging handwashing. Why WOULDN'T people do those things? Hahahahaha get a life!

Just looked at the disability section (7). It says fraud is 0%. So, of those eligible for and claiming disability benefit, fraud is 0%?

It is actually 0.4% I think, but recorded as 0% (rounding down).

That figure makes the disability benefit bashers very cross.

Not sure what relevance this has to the discussion here, but you have read that figure incorrectly.

@PandoraSox says 0.4% s a mix of claimant and official error, but fraud is 0%. Sorry, only looked at disability one as presumably that would be where long covid fakery showed up.

It’s in reference to the posters who are basically claiming covid and other related problems are the only reason for employee absence and fewer people working/being capable of full time work.

My point was that lifestyle choices and societal problems also factor in. Covid is one factor. It seems to have derailed slightly though so I’m going to leave it be now. Some people can’t compute Covid not being the be all and end all.

If I’ve read the stats incorrectly, I apologise for the misinformation - I’m rushing while on my lunch break and don’t really have the time or inclination to double check 🙈.

The UC one is what I was looking at - disability fraud is very low to non existent, presumably due to PIP and DLA being harder to claim.

People claiming only to be able to work certain hours and claiming UC top up when really they are capable of full time work is where it really shows according to my relative who works for DWP.

There are some super odd posters about on Mn at the moment, don't let them irritate you with their silly billy nonsense.

Which poster has said covid is the be all and end all? I've only seen that as an accusation, although may have missed it. To say covid is the be all and end all would be as extreme and nonsensical as ignoring all the impacts that covid is having.

Weren't you just crowing about your fabulous immune system a few pages back? 🤔

Anyway, I hope you feel better soon and make a fast recovery.

That link doesn't support the theory that massive or increasing amounts of people are faking illness. At all. Are you sure you've read the information you've linked to?

I agree! Covid is causing issues. So are lots of other things. More and more though I am realising that no argument will ever convince the people who think Covid is non existent and similarly no argument will ever convince the people who think we’re all doomed because of it. There’s definitely a middle ground.

I still think I have a great immune system! I feel like shit, true. But tbh this is the worst I've felt for about 10 years! Not bad. I make my own kefir, much to my dhs disgust and I'm convinced that keeps me healthy. Funnily enough I haven't had any for a couple of months.

But I didn’t say massive or increasing 🤯😂 I said some people are, just like some people aren’t working because of long covid and some people are having more absences because of covid and some people are disabled and some people have chronic health conditions and some people just don’t want to work! My original point is there are many many reasons why unemployment and employee absences are rising, not just Covid.

Public information ads on coughing and sneezing have been done (long) before...

Exactly. "Coughs and sneezes spread diseases" isn't new! People just don't listen. They never have and never will. Even during full lockdown in 2020 there were people coughing all over the supermarket without covering their mouths. Excusing it by saying it was "just" hay-fever or a smokers cough so they weren't spreading germs. But it shouldn't matter. If everyone was in the habit of covering their mouths if they were ill or not it would help. But people don't. If covid didn't change them a few adverts now won't.

That ad is brilliant.

Adverts like this should be recreated and played on TV every day. Not only the UK but in other countries too.

Actually what you said was that Long Covid self-reported figures, which are growing, are unreliable because many people lie or exaggerate being ill, being drama llamas. And there's just no evidence for that whatsoever, but you think this must be true because you can't accept there that many people are suffering from this condition. That's your own cognitive dissonance issue, though.

There's certainly no evidence of widespread hypochondria in the figures for disability benefits fraud because said fraud is minuscule to nonexistent. (In reality, it tends to be the opposite: people with chronic illness push themselves as hard as they can and hide their problems because society treats them like shit.)

It is certainly true that Covid is not the only issue affecting health, sick leave or school absences in the UK. There are many other chronic conditions, the NHS has been crumbling for a while before the pandemic, mental health support is close to zero, and increased poverty also tends to be, y'know, bad for health. However what is very unlikely to be true in any form is "many drama llamas making it up". That is a far-right talking point that has been used to stigmatise ill and disabled people for a long time.

I’m definitely right of centre leaning but far right is a bit extreme 😂

We can’t know either way regarding people with long covid, because the only measure at the moment IS through self reporting. You might well be right. There is literally no way of knowing at this point. I agree with you regarding people with REAL chronic illnesses, I know several of them within my own circle and believe me they are the first to express frustration with people exaggerating/lying because it makes it harder for their genuine cases to be taken seriously by medical professionals!!

That is my big worry with long covid and the hysteria surrounding covid in general. If people with normal post viral fatigue report it as long covid, how can we identify and help the genuine cases where lives are being severely impacted? Maybe we need to focus on measures to identify and support genuine cases of long covid.

I 100% agree with you regarding other things impacting health - addressing the state of the NHS, poverty and mental health will do a great deal for the health of the country.