Over 70s

Not all those in the shielded group are over 70.

Not all those over 70 are in the shielded group.

Well of course if the government hadn’t been so slow in locking down, the country wouldn’t be in this trouble and by now we would have been almost out of lockdown....anyone looked at Greece, it had infections start exactly same time as UK.....but it shut down immediately. Hardly any cases or deaths compared to this country. So we are all suffering now and probably will for months. When you are young a year or two doesn’t matter, but it does once you get over 70. I don’t want to get the virus so I will stay in lockdown., but I resent it cos I think it will last a lot longer than it could have if handled better......

I will hate the idea.
But I’m too scared to risk it.

Grandchildren will be ‘cute carriers’ to us oldies.

And no matter how fit & well any of us feel the reality is that from the age of around 60y we no longer produce T-cells from our (?) thymus. Those are the fighters against illnesses - which is we we become so darned susceptible.

Children produce loads of them and young adults do okay too.

No, as a devout coward I’ll be missing them terribly but staying put.

As my husband said today ‘let’s hope we have 15 good years ahead of us - why risk it all in 15 weeks’ time?’

I wouldn’t be happy, and I don’t think age should be the criterion.
If we’ve already been isolating for 6 weeks and haven’t developed symptoms, then we aren’t going to infect anyone else.
The danger is that we become infected and require hospital treatment, and overwhelm the NHS. But that has to be balanced against the effects on mental health of prolonged lockdown, which is not very different from house arrest.
If all the over 70’s can’t go out, many businesses won’t recover. Whenever we go out, whether it’s to the theatre, an orchestral concert, the cinema, a restaurant or a club, most of the clientele are definitely older people.

Not all those in the shielded group are over 70. My neighbour is married, his wife is a NHS front line worker, he has a young family and runs a successful business. Is he expected to continue to incarcerate himself for another 12 to 18 months?

I believe in 'the Science'. There will be Covid19 testing, contact tracing, more equipment and less strain on the NHS. If I chose to go out, yes, I could be exposed to Covid but if the testing and apps that go with it tell me I'm in danger, I will isolate myself.

People won't die because I choose to go out when there is mitigation in place.

Reading about the damage this virus does is horrifying and the way some people must have died doesn't bear thinking.
It attacks the brain by creating clots, the heart and kidneys causing kidney failure and of course the lungs.

Is it worth committing suicide by not adhering to rules ??

Good post Eglantine21 I do understand though the points made by anna7 such difficult decisions and there is no one size fits all solution.

It’s the potential for overwhelming numbers of 70+ that’s the difficulty.

We need to get the likelihood of infection down first. If we all stop social distancing together a very high proportion of the 9,000,000 70+ will be infected and 1 in 5 of those will need hospital treatment.

The medical services simply couldn’t cope with that.

I understand people want to get out and about, they want to see their family but is that really more important than risking other people’s lives?

Could you really sleep at night knowing that people died because you had to have your way.

I guess if the answer is yes it wouldn’t bother me, then there’s nothing more anyone can say.

When the first daily updates started, weren't we told (and shown graphics to demonstrate) that the aim was to have a series of ever-decreasing 'peaks', with the intention of keeping the numbers hospitalized at any one time to a manageable level?
Less about preventing deaths per se, and more about preventing our hospitals from being overwhelmed at any given moment.

On that basis, and assuming that the battle-plan hasn't changed (though it doesn't seem to be mentioned any more), there presumably will have to be a relaxing of the lockdown rules every so often?

Yes, those deemed most at risk, which includes those over 70, will almost certainly be advised to continue to stay at home even when that relaxing of the rules happens,, but we do still live in a free country where people will still be able to decide for themselves whether or not to follow that advice.

I am not in this catagory, but I can well understand why someone who already feels, for whatever reason, that their life is almost over, would feel heartbroken at the thought of possibly not being able to see their family ever again. In their position, I think that I too would put living that last bit of life, and seeing family, above all else - as long as I wasn't endangering them!

Well I wouldn't be happy. I am already worried about my 90 year old mother who is finding isolation very difficult. She may not have another 12/18 months to live and the thought of her spending the last part if her life upset and depressed, not seeing anyone and never going out again is very worrying. My sister in law is even more worried about her elderly mum who lives with her alzheimer's suffering husband. She has no family living locally. I know there are no easy answers but another 12 months or so of isolation is a terrible thought.

A valid point EllaVannin

I couldn't even pick-up chicken-pox as a child ( from brother ), nor from my own children, or theirs or my GGC, so I had a shingles jab last year. Wish it was the same for this virus

Eglantine I know at the moment it's strongly advised (apart for those who received the letter and therefore have to stay at home at all times). Let's hope they'll keep it that way and then we can make our minds up.

Looking at it another way, how can one build up any sort of resistance by being incarcerated ?

I shall do what I am told, when I am told
There are plenty of things that people are being deprived of at present besides seeing grandchildren, and there is no comparison between that and a real bereavement.

I hope there will be reliable antibody tests readily available before that long ahead as I'm sure some of us could be let out of quarantine if it's thought we have built up resistance.

Well if lots of people decide they wont isolate any more I guess we have to be prepared for that second wave and for the death toll to shoot up again.

I just hope people remember that was the choice they made and don’t start blaming others,

Eglantine... only time will tell, I find it very worrying. It is the young people whose lives are lost trying to save gung-ho older people that particularly concerns me.

(Please note that I am not for one moment suggesting anybody on this forum is 'gung ho', but I know of some in real life who glibly say that at their age there's no need to worry about catching the virus... 'I'm alright, Jack, I've had my life')

Anybody who has lost a child or a grandchild will tell you that not seeing them for a few months cant be compared in any way to a bereavement, when you know that you will never see them again.
Eglantine I echo your words.

Well if lots of people decide they wont isolate any more I guess we have to be prepared for that second wave and for the death toll to shoot up again.

I just hope people remember that was the choice they made and don’t start blaming others,

It isadvice bluesky. I m not sure where you got the idea that it’s compulsoryfor over 70s. The advice is that we are particularly vunerable so should take extra precautions.

Even for OH who is shielding, it’s still advice.

'Fraid not. I'm used to living on my own, and happy with my own company, but the thought of not being able to go out for 12-18 months would be the straw that broke the camel's back.

At 73, I don't know how many more years I've got left (although I am pretty healthy - not on any medication), and I'd rather not have it shortened with a long spell of incarceration.

I dearly want to be able to meet my daughter and grandchildren, and a little bit of freedom to go where I want, so I shall just have to take my chances as others have said.

I don't even think it's a viable proposition, it would have to be purely voluntary, as who would police it?

"Anybody who has lost a child or a grandchild will tell you that not seeing them for a few months cant be compared in any way to a bereavement, when you know that you will never see them again."

And that is exactly my point about mental health Eglantine. Many may well see it like a bereavement and to them it will be just as real.

whatever it takes, I can see a good 20 years ahead of me after lockdown. Feeling lucky to have a nice home and garden and hobbies

The trouble is whether we like it or not, and regardless of how fit we feel, our bodies are ageing and this is a virus that is serious for the over 70s.

1 in 5 of us will require hospital treatment.

With around 9 million over 70s that could be almost 2 million hospital cases if everyone met up at the end of May.

There’s no quick fix to this.

Anybody who has lost a child or a grandchild will tell you that not seeing them for a few months cant be compared in any way to a bereavement, when you know that you will never see them again.

I am not prepared to stay in lockdown for another 12-18 months. I would rather take my chances and risk the virus. Why would I be risking others if they are already out of lockdown? I will sign a waiver regarding treatment but I am NOT going to stay locked down for all that time, law or no law.