COVID-19 (Coronavirus) discussion

My first shift in 2 years without wearing a mask last night - was very quiet staff wise due to people off either on holiday or sick so barely any point and COVID seems to be close to non-existent locally. I hope work keeps up some of the sanitisation routine though - I'm pretty sure it has massively cut down on the amount of colds etc. going around as well as obviously there not being as much going around generally.

One of my colleagues has long COVID - even though they had Omicron and weren't that ill with it seems it since recovering they've had a asthma like condition come back they had as a child but haven't had the last 10 years - dunno how much "long COVID" has become a catch-all but doctors said it has done some damage to the lungs triggering the condition.
 
Tony Edwards said:
What I have noticed since mask wearing has dwindled is people getting close to talk to each other again. It really is like they learned nothing from all the lesson from the last 2 odd years.
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Or people have become happy / to terms with the consequences and just want to be human again? Just giving another side of the argument.

I'm happy to give people the space that want it but and don't judge people that still wear masks or are unvaccinated. We all need to accept people's opinions and personal risk profiles. You may not agree with it but they're probably happy with the decisions they're making.
 
Human again? This is one of the big problems. The language that is used by the deniers. Of course you give people space but thats because you are probably a decent person and people like you arent the problem. When Im out I see people coughing their lungs out with no cover, just straight out coughing. Sneezing, getting too close to people they dont socialise with.

For me if people want to socialise at pubs and other general public places thats up to them but I think there should be more regard to places like shops where people that dont go out to pubs and the like can have less risk. Its a bit like the smoking ban. I wont get cancer from smoking as I dont smoke but I might get it from second hand smoke.
 
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Tony Edwards said:
Human again? This is one of the big problems. The language that is used by the deniers. Of course you give people space but thats because you are probably a decent person and people like you arent the problem. When Im out I see people coughing their lungs out with no cover, just straight out coughing. Sneezing, getting too close.
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I understand what you are saying but the biggest deniers are the government. They have the power to really improve things, help bring us better vaccines and treatments and minimise risk through e.g. ventilation and it's cheap and easy to test sewage water to determine hotspots if they are stupid enough to get rid of our testing and surveillance infrastructure (so we should really kick the current corrupt incompetents out). In the meantime I will be wearing my FFP2 mask as much as possible.
 
ltron said:
I understand what you are saying but the biggest deniers are the government. They have the power to really improve things and minimise risk (so we should really kick the current corrupt incompetents out). In the meantime I will be wearing my FFP2 mask as much as possible.
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That goes without saying but you are talking about the same lot that brought us and champion brexit.
 
I still think we should keep requirements on people entering the country, just so we don't import any particularly nasty strains if they happen to arise (is that even possible anymore now though with vaccines doing their job ?)
 
Minusorange said:
I still think we should keep requirements on people entering the country, just so we don't import any particularly nasty strains if they happen to arise (is that even possible anymore now though with vaccines doing their job ?)
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We'll only worry about that after a nasty new strain has made it through the border...

Seems like some new sub-variants of Omicron in the wild - with varying degrees of resistance to previous Omicron elicited immunity. Doesn't seem to be much data on specifics yet but looks like one is nastier than Omicron but not very infectious and another pretty much the same as Omicron but resistant to immunity from previous (other variant) Omicron infections.
 
Minusorange said:
I still think we should keep requirements on people entering the country, just so we don't import any particularly nasty strains if they happen to arise (is that even possible anymore now though with vaccines doing their job ?)
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The virus is mutating so quickly and with the boosters waning faster with Omicron (and from a lower base) that it is very possible. The vaccines are doing their job against illness severe enough to hospitalise and against death, but even that is waning somewhat over time (protection against transmission wanes fast). I agree with you about surveillance of the virus but unfortunately the government are winding it all down because 'it costs money'. They are always so short-sighted due to their ideology.
 
Minusorange said:
I still think we should keep requirements on people entering the country, just so we don't import any particularly nasty strains if they happen to arise (is that even possible anymore now though with vaccines doing their job ?)
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There's still plenty of potential for strains to reach the UK through our borders, just as there's plenty of home grown strain potential. The vaccine, if working, simply reduces the severity of infection for an individual.

The big question for those of us under 75 and not clinically vulnerable, is how long is our up to third vaccine shot going to continue to help us? It's been five months since my third jab aged in my late 40s, after the second jab there was talk of vaccine waning after ~4 months.

And there's still huge variation in vaccination numbers in different countries and the effectiveness of the vaccine type used.

We are being encouraged to pretend COVID is over, but the endgame is nowhere near, right now it's a question of when the next lethal strain emerges and how leaders/individuals deal with it.
 
UTmaniac said:
The big question for those of us under 75 and not clinically vulnerable, is how long is our up to third vaccine shot going to continue to help us? It's been five months since my third jab aged in my late 40s, after the second jab there was talk of vaccine waning after ~4 months.
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Hopefully this is being closely monitored with plans for a new national booster programme if needed.

I've been surprised by how many people I know haven't had covid yet. It is a bit concerning that they (and I) may end up having a worse time with it due to avoiding infection while the booster was working at full strength.
 
Tony Edwards said:
Human again? This is one of the big problems. The language that is used by the deniers. Of course you give people space but thats because you are probably a decent person and people like you arent the problem. When Im out I see people coughing their lungs out with no cover, just straight out coughing. Sneezing, getting too close to people they dont socialise with.

For me if people want to socialise at pubs and other general public places thats up to them but I think there should be more regard to places like shops where people that dont go out to pubs and the like can have less risk. Its a bit like the smoking ban. I wont get cancer from smoking as I dont smoke but I might get it from second hand smoke.
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I'm not a denier. But the want to be part of a communal society is important, and human contact is a critical element of humanity. Perhaps human is the wrong word, not sure what other word to use to convey the point I was trying to make.

I think people's behaviours have overall changed, for the better. I.e. less tutting from not going to work because you've got a cold/ill, or being more mindful of other people's needs/requirements. However, there is a limit to how much restriction or rules people will follow just to do basic things once they don't need to anymore.

If I legally had to wear a mask I would begrudgingly, or had to show one of those test things, again I would. However you can't be surprised that people want to ditch those extra steps if they don't have to, especially after 2 very long years for some of little to no contact. Some of us (me included) have been quite blasé about it (whether rightly or wrongly - I'm not seeking an argument) and still travelled extensively after the hard lockdown. We adhered to the rules to allow us to have a modicum of normality. Is it so wrong that people are feeling a bit more blasé about it now that they are largely protected and that the data seems to suggest things are less serious than they were?

As for @200sols comments yes I was quite anti lockdown, and I still am but I complied mostly because I had to but also because I appreciated there were elements of it that made sense. I also accept I was possibly also unnecessarily frustrated by it all and taking it out on the doom and gloomers, but that's also on me and my fault for logging back onto the forums and surrounding myself with influence that wasn't conducive to my headspace at the time. Hopefully my rationality has shown itself more over the past 6 months or so since having life go back to normal. If I offended anyone the clearly that wasn't my intention but the lack of conviviality for people with different perspectives was also striking.
 
ltron said:
the government are winding it all down because 'it costs money'. They are always so short-sighted due to their ideology.
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You would think they would have learned the costs of not being proactive with things around this virus, I think most of us would assume the costs to protect the border from the virus are vastly cheaper than cost to the economy if/when something nasty enters
 
Freefaller said:
I'm not a denier. But the want to be part of a communal society is important, and human contact is a critical element of humanity.
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Thats all very well but wearing a mask in a shop isnt stopping any of that. Nor any of the other sensible precautions.

I understand the thing about the lockdown but that isnt that same as taking sensible precautions.
 
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