Re-evaluating our relationship with COVID

D

Deleted member 438547

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The time is fast approaching where the UK should get itself into a position whereby we are free of restrictions and thus government should start passing health responsibility back to the citizens rather than imposing laws upon the populace to try and achieve it.

However, wherever you look on social media or in online newspaper comments there are obviously ten's of thousands of people whose posts suggest that they are incredibly fearful of the consequences of the virus despite the vaccination program being a success. Time and time again people are commenting that normality cannot resume as the vaccine is not 100% effective and everyone globally needs to be vaccinated for it to be "safe" for them to re-enter society.

These are generally the same people who sat back last year and stayed safe and said "next year will be better". They repeat the same mantra this year. Foreign holidays will be avoided as despite having a vaccine "why you go to infected country and risk dying?" when the beach will still be there next year? They cite variants as a problem but fail to realise that overcrowded UK staycation spots will do as much to promote this as allowing people to jet off.

Fear and risk is a highly personal thing. My partner and I (both healthy and mid 40s) have taken a relaxed attitude to the risk of COVID over the past year (still not bought a bottle of hand sanitiser) and we struggle to understand why people have become so fearful of the disease if they are in a low risk group. We have friends of our age who are still convinced that getting on a plane or going to a restaurant is a death sentence. They are virtually cowering now as they fear the cases will start to increase as the lockdown lifts.

Surely it is now the responsibility of government to start to communicate that the cycle of cases, hospitalisations, deaths will be broken by the vaccine? The government have been late at every stage of the pandemic and it appears they are behind the curve on downgrading the fear.

Just wondered what other people's thoughts are. How do we stop irrational fear of COVID?
 
People are different and their circumstances. You do what you want to do and let others do the same.
 
My partner and I (both healthy and mid 40s) have taken a relaxed attitude to the risk of COVID over the past year (still not bought a bottle of hand sanitiser) and we struggle to understand why people have become so fearful of the disease if they are in a low risk group.


Well that's fine if you are going to stay indoors and not mix with others, but remember you can pass it on without realising it and for people like myself and Mrs TG (over 70) it's reasonable to be fearful.
 
I think when both jabs are done for the main at risk groups things should go back to almost normal
Maybe be a little more careful when it comes to hand cleaning
But I've heard people say they won't be going abroad or to the pub ever again
Which I think is a bit mental and letting fear rule your life
none of us live forever enjoy life while you can
 
The government has seen that as soon as there is any relaxation in the rules large numbers start behaving as though the pandemic is over and no measures at all are needed. I think this is the reason they are not yet taking steps to issue reassurances about it being safe to resume normal life. It’s a brake on the more relaxed in society. They’ve been bitten before with relaxing the rules too early and especially with what’s going on in Europe with a third wave, they are now inclined to be more cautious.

i agree that there are some people who are by nature pessimistic or anxious who will find it difficult to resume normal life. Others will take to it like a duck to water without even a moments anxiety.

I hope there will be support for those whose anxiety prevents them from enjoying the freedoms we will eventually get back.
 
I
The time is fast approaching where the UK should get itself into a position whereby we are free of restrictions and thus government should start passing health responsibility back to the citizens rather than imposing laws upon the populace to try and achieve it.

However, wherever you look on social media or in online newspaper comments there are obviously ten's of thousands of people whose posts suggest that they are incredibly fearful of the consequences of the virus despite the vaccination program being a success. Time and time again people are commenting that normality cannot resume as the vaccine is not 100% effective and everyone globally needs to be vaccinated for it to be "safe" for them to re-enter society.

These are generally the same people who sat back last year and stayed safe and said "next year will be better". They repeat the same mantra this year. Foreign holidays will be avoided as despite having a vaccine "why you go to infected country and risk dying?" when the beach will still be there next year? They cite variants as a problem but fail to realise that overcrowded UK staycation spots will do as much to promote this as allowing people to jet off.

Fear and risk is a highly personal thing. My partner and I (both healthy and mid 40s) have taken a relaxed attitude to the risk of COVID over the past year (still not bought a bottle of hand sanitiser) and we struggle to understand why people have become so fearful of the disease if they are in a low risk group. We have friends of our age who are still convinced that getting on a plane or going to a restaurant is a death sentence. They are virtually cowering now as they fear the cases will start to increase as the lockdown lifts.

Surely it is now the responsibility of government to start to communicate that the cycle of cases, hospitalisations, deaths will be broken by the vaccine? The government have been late at every stage of the pandemic and it appears they are behind the curve on downgrading the fear.

Just wondered what other people's thoughts are. How do we stop irrational fear of COVID?
I agree worrying doesn't help.
I suppose it's a personal thing. I imagine plenty of people have there limits. For instance for me I don't personally fear sitting in a pub garden over the summer to come, but haven't even considered booking an abroad holiday.
Not only because of the risk factor of catching covid but also uncertainty of it getting cancelled and whether health insurance would actually cover such circumstances.
I've personally not been on a plane for about 14 years, just Euro Star, so perhaps it's how we prioritise as well.
 
The government has seen that as soon as there is any relaxation in the rules large numbers start behaving as though the pandemic is over and no measures at all are needed. I think this is the reason they are not yet taking steps to issue reassurances about it being safe to resume normal life. It’s a brake on the more relaxed in society. They’ve been bitten before with relaxing the rules too early and especially with what’s going on in Europe with a third wave, they are now inclined to be more cautious.

i agree that there are some people who are by nature pessimistic or anxious who will find it difficult to resume normal life. Others will take to it like a duck to water without even a moments anxiety.

I hope there will be support for those whose anxiety prevents them from enjoying the freedoms we will eventually get back.
I think this is a good point. I'm not sure how other countries react when they've had some easing of restrictions, but it does sometimes seem like as a nation we become like children when some restrictions have eased. For instance if it's true about beaches and parks being packed the past couple of days.
I don't like to say it but I do wonder had we as society been more responsible, and guidelines been clear as well if we wouldn't have needed to shut hospitality and retail this time round and just relied on people being sensible and keeping distance.
But rates dropping in the UK at the moment seem optimistic.
 
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I agree worrying doesn't help.
I suppose it's a personal thing. I imagine plenty of people have there limits. For instance for me I don't personally fear sitting in a pub garden over the summer to come, but haven't even considered booking an abroad holiday.
Not only because of the risk factor of catching covid but also uncertainty of it getting cancelled and whether health insurance would actually cover such circumstances.
I've personally not been on a plane for about 14 years, just Euro Star, so perhaps it's how we prioritise as well.
Exactly. I happen to be the opposite in that I have absolutely no desire to visit a pub, but can't wait to get on a plane.
 
My thoughts are fear of covid isn’t irrational for some.

I knew this is a critique that someone would lay at the feet of my post and it's fair comment.

The reality is that anyone vaccinated should not fear COVID. If they do, the reality is that they should have to accept that their life as it was is over but they should not expect others to continue to suffer.

Equally if healthy people in age groups which are not at risk think that getting on a plane is a death sentence then they should not be expecting others to forego their right to travel.

However, rational fear is ok, but the number of people who have the reason for it is diminishing as the vaccine rolls out.
 
The government has seen that as soon as there is any relaxation in the rules large numbers start behaving as though the pandemic is over and no measures at all are needed. I think this is the reason they are not yet taking steps to issue reassurances about it being safe to resume normal life. It’s a brake on the more relaxed in society. They’ve been bitten before with relaxing the rules too early and especially with what’s going on in Europe with a third wave, they are now inclined to be more cautious.

i agree that there are some people who are by nature pessimistic or anxious who will find it difficult to resume normal life. Others will take to it like a duck to water without even a moments anxiety.

I hope there will be support for those whose anxiety prevents them from enjoying the freedoms we will eventually get back.

I haven't yet been able to work out why the third wave in Europe is relevant to a country where over 50% of the people (presumeably including most vunerable people) have antibodies.
 
I haven't yet been able to work out why the third wave in Europe is relevant to a country where over 50% of the people (presumeably including most vunerable people) have antibodies.
Because it increases the potential for the development of new strains which the current vaccinations don’t protect us against. We still have millions of people who haven’t yet been vaccinated at all.
 
I haven't yet been able to work out why the third wave in Europe is relevant to a country where over 50% of the people (presumeably including most vunerable people) have antibodies.
Maybe look at how flu and Vaccine works, which we have had since the 1940's and the fact people still die from flu. The COVID issue for life.
 
A little bit of fear can be a good thing as it creates caution. There no need to panic and go overboard though.
I'm 40 and in good health so I don't worry for myself, but I work with vulnerable children and I have friends and family members who are vulnerable too. I think it's prudent for me to be cautious as that helps to protect those around me.
 
I haven't yet been able to work out why the third wave in Europe is relevant to a country where over 50% of the people (presumeably including most vunerable people) have antibodies.
I assume that when they talk about the potential of another third (or is it fourth- confused) wave they are talking about new cases of covid 19. The ONS survey released yesterday suggested that 50% of people in the UK had antibodies. In other word that leaves over 30 million without any antibody protection.

Taking this into account and also the fact that vaccinated people can still get infected and pass on the virus surely it very possible to see the potential for a rise in cases as covid restrictions start to be lifted. This does not necessary mean that a further wave of infections, will have the same impact as before in terms of hospital admissions and deaths.
 
I knew this is a critique that someone would lay at the feet of my post and it's fair comment.

The reality is that anyone vaccinated should not fear COVID. If they do, the reality is that they should have to accept that their life as it was is over but they should not expect others to continue to suffer.

Equally if healthy people in age groups which are not at risk think that getting on a plane is a death sentence then they should not be expecting others to forego their right to travel.

However, rational fear is ok, but the number of people who have the reason for it is diminishing as the vaccine rolls out.

Human behaviour is notoriously lacking in rationality...if it wasn't we'd all behave like the Borg.
 
Once everyone had been vaxxed then they must get out an mix to take the anxiety away. If everyone waited indoors for everyone else to see if the vax works or not we'll never know!

On saying that, when out and about mixing we must keep to the hygene rules, not only for covid but for all the other nasty bugs out to get us. In some respects our defences could be down against germs that we normallty brush aside; as they've been away from us for a year??
 
Maybe look at how flu and Vaccine works, which we have had since the 1940's and the fact people still die from flu. The COVID issue for life.

Yes it is an issue for life. So people must come to terms with that.

But at the end of the day, it's not a choice between hiding or dying.
 
Some people mistake social media and tabloid reporting for reality.
Every Ecstasy tablet results in death.
Every Staffie kills a child.
Every women who steps outside after dark is murdered.
Covid is an automatic death sentance.
Step outside and it's not different than firing a gun into a crowded room.

Hopefully as more people got outside and interact with others away from the internet, this fear will subside.
 
I have seen a wealth of comments along the lines you described cubegame like your friends who are convinced that going into a restaurant would be a death sentence. You can tell that people who say things like that haven’t actually seen firsthand what going to a restaurant or pub was like when they were open from last summer until just before Christmas. I went to 6 restaurants (2 on multiple occasions) during that time and on every occasion none could be described as being “busy.” Hardly surprising given you had to book 2 hour slots and the restaurants were controlling numbers and had put various measures in place to ensure social distancing as much as possible. A far cry from how they were pre-March 2020.

i visited more pubs/bars between July and December last year and would say the same for those too.

Given the numbers of pubs and restaurants I visited along with various friends and family members, I find it very difficult to unquestionably accept that we all somehow got lucky. Not a single person in our various groups, who visited all these restaurants/ pubs, displayed Covid symptoms last year.

A #1 recurring comment I’ve seen since they relaxed the stay at home restriction and articles began appearing on news sites’ Facebook pages etc about people visiting beauty spots is, “oh look not a single one of them is wearing a mask. We’ll be locked down again before we know it.” They seem to completely overlook the fact that all of these people have been pictured outside.

in short, they would benefit from getting out more and definitely spending less time online.
 
I have seen a wealth of comments along the lines you described cubegame like your friends who are convinced that going into a restaurant would be a death sentence. You can tell that people who say things like that haven’t actually seen firsthand what going to a restaurant or pub was like when they were open from last summer until just before Christmas. I went to 6 restaurants (2 on multiple occasions) during that time and on every occasion none could be described as being “busy.” Hardly surprising given you had to book 2 hour slots and the restaurants were controlling numbers and had put various measures in place to ensure social distancing as much as possible. A far cry from how they were pre-March 2020.

i visited more pubs/bars between July and December last year and would say the same for those too.

Given the numbers of pubs and restaurants I visited along with various friends and family members, I find it very difficult to unquestionably accept that we all somehow got lucky. Not a single person in our various groups, who visited all these restaurants/ pubs, displayed Covid symptoms last year.

A #1 recurring comment I’ve seen since they relaxed the stay at home restriction and articles began appearing on news sites’ Facebook pages etc about people visiting beauty spots is, “oh look not a single one of them is wearing a mask. We’ll be locked down again before we know it.” They seem to completely overlook the fact that all of these people have been pictured outside.

in short, they would benefit from getting out more and definitely spending less time online.

Your observation about getting lucky is interesting. My partner and I wonder how the hell we didn't get COVID (and I had a couple of antibody tests which suggest we didn't).

We never really hand washed more than we usually do, didn't buy into the whole hand sanitiser thing and don't obsess about distancing. We ate out more times last year than any other year and we do normally eat out a lot. We managed three foreign holidays and I did a fair few business flights.

How do we not get COVID if it is so dangerously infectious? Perhaps it is luck.
 
I have seen a wealth of comments along the lines you described cubegame like your friends who are convinced that going into a restaurant would be a death sentence. You can tell that people who say things like that haven’t actually seen firsthand what going to a restaurant or pub was like when they were open from last summer until just before Christmas. I went to 6 restaurants (2 on multiple occasions) during that time and on every occasion none could be described as being “busy.” Hardly surprising given you had to book 2 hour slots and the restaurants were controlling numbers and had put various measures in place to ensure social distancing as much as possible. A far cry from how they were pre-March 2020.

i visited more pubs/bars between July and December last year and would say the same for those too.

Given the numbers of pubs and restaurants I visited along with various friends and family members, I find it very difficult to unquestionably accept that we all somehow got lucky. Not a single person in our various groups, who visited all these restaurants/ pubs, displayed Covid symptoms last year.

A #1 recurring comment I’ve seen since they relaxed the stay at home restriction and articles began appearing on news sites’ Facebook pages etc about people visiting beauty spots is, “oh look not a single one of them is wearing a mask. We’ll be locked down again before we know it.” They seem to completely overlook the fact that all of these people have been pictured outside.

in short, they would benefit from getting out more and definitely spending less time online.
Anything in doors run the risk of passing COVID-19 and my sister in-law got COVID from indoor 2 meters away. Fortunately her x didn't get COVID as he in the at risk group and both of her Kids could have passed it on.

The same thing would happen in Restaurants and Pub and more like as if 1 in 150 people go to the pub the you might say the you can Guarantee 1 person every day who visits has COVID. Staff/Room can pass it on the 1 to the other 150 people and so on.

So basically your idea is that the loss of a few people i.e. 1 in 10000 is ok so that you can go to the pub. Personally I don't think I am at risk, but for others I need to follow the rules and keep this under control.
 

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