What are older people's lives worth?

I disagree, OP. Children and young adults were affected dreadfully and the repercussions are still being felt.
Younger, hitherto healthy people died, too.
I find this thread somewhat distasteful. It wasn’t a competition.

I will never, ever do another lockdown.
Likewise.

The person in the article says we should now give something back to the young in return for what they gave the rest of society, but I don't think many people would be prepared to do this.

I think closing most of the country down was a big mistake.
I think the young should have carried on working, whilst the older people sheltered.
All this 2 metre distance stuff was ludicrous, now when I think about it. Someone only had to sneeze by the time you’ve caught up to their spot in the queue you probably would have been covered in the virus anyway.
It absolutely battered my MH.
I couldn’t go over my parents door step, my dad, I hadn’t realised he was suffering from dementia (mum hid it from me, so that it didn’t worry me).
We couldn’t really see our grandson as
We could stand in the hallway, he was only a toddler at the time.
We chose husbands mum who was the worse, to be in our bubble.
Thank the lord KS wasn’t in power, didn’t he said he would have had us in lockdown even longer?
I will never, ever do another lockdown.

Interesting article.
Life is naturally divisive because our very existence means that we are separated into different groups according to our age. I can't see how that is to be avoided.

Personally I think that closing schools was the worst possible decision during covid. There were a couple of posters on GN who even wanted both teachers and pupils to wear masks when schools returned in order to stop transmission. How stupidly wrong would that have been, as if children weren't already making huge sacrifices for older, more vulnerable people?

That should be DIL not FIL, he died in 1949.

M0nica

Different pandemics a of the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918-1919. Those most affect different age groups. In the second and most deadly phaseffected and most likely to die were in the 20-40 age group. My 38 year old grandfather died of Spanish flu in January 1919

So next time, it may be the old and very young going out and about caring for the working age people confined to their homes because they were most at risk.

The decision to shut down the country in 2020 had nothing to do with protecting the elderly, we were housebound anyway, it was all about politicians running round like headless chickens wanting to be seen to do things when they did not want to do. fher countries managed to keep children in school and without lockdowns.

Old were nto the wolves in the last pandemic, old people with COVID were returned to care homes even though they were still infectious, old people were locked in care homes as if they were prisoners and not allowed to leave just left to catch the disease running through care homes like wildfire and forced to catch it and die, no matter what their children wanted. Old people died alone in hospitals and had only minimal funerals, which has caused continuing trauma in many families affecting younger people.

My son and FIL worked on COVID wards. No old people died alone on their wards, my Dil said she couldn't understand how she never caught it when she held so many dying people and was coughed on and vomited on as she held iPads for them to say goodbye. They may not have had family with them but to say they died alone is insulting to the brave young people who cared for them, cried for them and then got on with it.

Can I just say my two oldest GC did fine in their GCSEs and A levels. They kept in touch with friends on line. They studied on line. They don't seem affected in the slightest, one at uni and one working. No different to my kids at the same age. I wonder why some were so badly affected.

My younger GC certainly saw people's faces, their parents who had so much quality time with them, no nursery no school no work for some.

We can choose to focus on the negative or we can be positive. Our choice unless we lost loved ones which is a different matter.

Different pandemics a of the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918-1919. Those most affect different age groups. In the second and most deadly phaseffected and most likely to die were in the 20-40 age group. My 38 year old grandfather died of Spanish flu in January 1919

So next time, it may be the old and very young going out and about caring for the working age people confined to their homes because they were most at risk.

The decision to shut down the country in 2020 had nothing to do with protecting the elderly, we were housebound anyway, it was all about politicians running round like headless chickens wanting to be seen to do things when they did not want to do. fher countries managed to keep children in school and without lockdowns.

Old were nto the wolves in the last pandemic, old people with COVID were returned to care homes even though they were still infectious, old people were locked in care homes as if they were prisoners and not allowed to leave just left to catch the disease running through care homes like wildfire and forced to catch it and die, no matter what their children wanted. Old people died alone in hospitals and had only minimal funerals, which has caused continuing trauma in many families affecting younger people.

Everyone's life is important whatever their age. Young and old suffered during Covid. Children's education was disrupted and older people died in hospitals and care homes. It was a terrible time all round for everyone. Now we must look forward to the future and hope that we never have such an awful epidemic ever again.

I did not mean to say that young people who survived suffered less than older people who survived, or that the lives of older people are as important as the lives of younger people. Young people have the opportunity to overcome their difficulties and lead useful and fulfilling lives. There would have been no coming back for the hundreds of thousands of older people who would have died if we hadn't had a lockdown. You need to compare like with like

keepingquiet

I think young people suffered far more during Covid and trust me I lost someone and my family had a truly harrowing time.

However, leaving my students who were sent home at a moments notice and told not to come back just weeks before their GCSEs was the worst day of my professional career.

They didn't just miss their education, they lost contact with friends and family, couldn't go to their clubs or after school activities etc.

Very young children didn't see people's faces, only masks. They were not cuddled, given treats or had birthday parties.

The long term effects of this are still being felt in my own grandchildren so no I don't think my life is worth more than theirs. It should not be a lottery. All lives are important and if only the government at the time had realised this!

Yes that is very true.
All ages suffered from one thing or the other.
I suppose that’s not fair of me to say about the younger generation giving up on work.

AnotherBirdLady

www.theguardian.com/inequality/2026/mar/08/did-baby-boomers-eat-all-pies-john-lanchester-truth-generation-gap?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

I read this article at the weekend and found it very interesting. However, it was a bit chilling near the end when he says that older people should thank the young for their sacrifices during Covid. No-one disputes that younger people were adversely affected by lockdowns and school closures, but older people actually died, often decades before their time. Are the lives of older people worth so little they should be grateful that younger people didn't kill more of them by spreading the virus around? I sometimes have nightmares thinking about what the next pandemic might be like. Perhaps no-one over 60 will be admitted to hospital, and their bodies will be collected each day, after dying quietly at home, so that younger people can have their needs for "socialisation and education" fulfilled. This may be far-fetched but it is surely the logical conclusion for all this dreadful ageism.

Thank the ‘ young ones’. A lot finished work due to stress & MH.

I think young people suffered far more during Covid and trust me I lost someone and my family had a truly harrowing time.

However, leaving my students who were sent home at a moments notice and told not to come back just weeks before their GCSEs was the worst day of my professional career.

They didn't just miss their education, they lost contact with friends and family, couldn't go to their clubs or after school activities etc.

Very young children didn't see people's faces, only masks. They were not cuddled, given treats or had birthday parties.

The long term effects of this are still being felt in my own grandchildren so no I don't think my life is worth more than theirs. It should not be a lottery. All lives are important and if only the government at the time had realised this!