Travelling to family for Christmas?

Mirren, understandably your are allowing your emotions to over-ride your intellect. Your family 'deep-down' might have some unexpressed anxieties about having a working G.P. visiting with the possibility of bringing goodness knows what sort of infections to their family.
Keep them and yourself safe by staying at home.

Staying home is the safest bet !
I won't see GC or GGC, just D for a flying visit to pick up all the presents for children and family.
I'd rather remain in the land of the living and see them next year-----sadly, many won't for the sake of a couple of days. Is it worth it ? NO !

DD, who is our bubble member and lives alone and works from home is joining us for 2 weeks, which is entirely legal.

DS may make a flying visit, but that is all. He too works from home, but has a family. He will have a COVID test before he comes.

My husband was also a GP and he views COVID with great relief.
For the past 2 Christmases someone of the extended family has brought with him/ her an infection which was passed on to 14 of the 18 family members.... the effects still continuing until the end of February and included husband's hospitalisation

I am now writing a pantomime which we will perform over skype with parts adapted for the idiosyncracies of all members worldwide. The greatest problem will be the timing
We will have a great laugh and I shall breathe a sigh of relief that , at over 80 , there will be no additional cooking, washing or cleaning for me .... and yes the whole family does aid with everything when here but we live alone and ankle nipping 2 yo or smouldering 18 yo granddaughters can prove a bit of an assault on the senses, our not having seen them for a year

Usually my son and daughter in law entertain their three children and their children at Christmas.. I cannot travel. As my son has had absolutely no one in their home this year each family will visit them separately in the garden over Christmas. We will all have FaceTime and Zoom meetings.
So many younger people are careless or like some like a young man interviewed on TV think the whole thing is a joke.
One of my grandsons lives on the Isle of Wight says people. Are coming from the mainland to drink in the pubs.

Delay PLEASE!!!!!....we are SO close to the vaccine .... but if there is another spike it could delay the vaccine roll out if the people giving the vaccine get Covid or have to isolate. Why cant MOST people wait & celebrate next year.... do they want to kill Granny or put extra pressure on the NHS. It's selfish madness for a couple of days! Remember you can be asymptomatic!

No just no! Husband has stage 4 cancer so this could well be his last Christmas. Family live 400miles away. We’re in tier 3. I really really hope that responsible folk do the right thing for the well being of the population. Be kind people.

Think I would go after huge conversations with recipients and massive precautions. I'd even take my own toiletting facilities in case I was caught short. At the end of the day, we all know the potential consequences and we make our own adult informed decisions for ourselves. We don't need advice from others. Follow your heart/brain combination. Good luck!

This is so true. we are SO close to the vaccine .... but if there is another spike it could delay the vaccine roll out if the people giving the vaccine get Covid or have to isolate.

It was said on the lunchtime news today that 140,000 people were vaccinated last week, and at this rate it will take many more months than anticipated to work through vaccinating those most at risk. We don't need anything to put a spanner in the works. People have to do the right thing, rather than just doing what they want.

This is a little off message Mirren, but you have no idea how comforting it is to know that even medical professionals have quandaries. I am CEV so won’t be going anywhere in the near future, but take heart that next Christmas will be better and I’ll (hopefully) be around to enjoy it.

I definitely would not go. As sodapop says I really don’t understand the obsession with Christmas. Much nicer to see family and friends during the light nights and better weather. I think the government would have been wiser to have not promised that people could meet up at Christmas and left the decision until much later. We are now in a situation much like the rest of Europe, where infections and deaths are rising. This five day meeting of households is crazy and we will see the results of such folly in January. I haven’t seen my family in Wales since early March but I really don’t mind as long as we all keep safe and well. The vaccine is here and why throw away almost a whole year of being careful just for Christmas.
One last thought, I think the press and social media have to bear some responsibility for all the ‘hype’ around families meeting up at Christmas. Also Keir Starmer really needs to push the Prime Minister on this issue instead of sitting back and abstaining as he usually does.

The finish line is in sight - the vaccines are in the surgeries and being administered. Is it worth dying for a roast dinner?

I can’t believe that people “don’t mind” not seeing their families. These are precious times and we will never get them back. For me the whole thing is a very serious matter. What ever we do at Christmas it will be wrong. I will hate not seeing my family and refuse to put a positive spin on this as so many do. For me there will be no upside. Positively no Zoom ( far too upsetting) and absolutely no plans for get togethers at Easter or in the summer. Just something to be endured for the common good but please don’t expect me to pleased about it.
As for the vaccine I will have it but have no faith in it. It will only delay the spread and will need to be repeated every winter.

I presume you mean me aonk* . You really have misinterpreted what I have said here. Of course I miss my family as do most people and you have upset me by implying that I don’t care. If you read my post again you will see that I want my family to be safe and well. That is CARING. As for your comment about the vaccine that is your choice but in my view it’s irresponsible. I love and care for my family that is why I will be having the vaccine as soon as my turn comes.

I shan't be travelling to visit anyone or inviting them here until we all have been vaccinated.

It just isn't worth the risk.

Your family know you love them. Stay at home, that way you will all be safe.

If you are back in practice during the pandemic, how come you are taking time off at Christmas?

My thoughts have been dominated by the idea that I have waded my way through the most difficult 8 months of my life - OH died in February, lockdown followed etc. etc. I just think that it has taken so much of my energy and strength to get this far that there is no point throwing in the towel when the finishing line is visible in the distance.

I would not make that journey and risk bringing the virus back and forth from one end of the country to another. Organise to have a jolly Easter maybe when things might have eased a bit - all this easing of vigilance now in the months when all viruses make merry simply makes no sense to me.

I will be on my own on Christmas Day and accept that this is how it has to be. It took me a while to get to this point.

I have family who live in the south of England. Booked flights months ago for a two week stay over Christmas. When the 5 day dates were announced changed flights at huge cost to comply with the laws. Now, only today, with reports on the increasing levels all over the place I have decided to cancel my visit. Absolutely gutted. I took account of if I contracted the virus my son & family would have to isolate too plus if the worst happened I didn't relish the thought of being in a hospital and my family having all the responsibility for me whilst in and if course on discharge. The risk is not worth taking the chance.

You live in a beautiful part of the country. You can zoom, Skype, WhatsApp over the Christmas period. Stay safe and well is my advice . Once vaccinated then you can mix. Don’t jeopardise it all now.

aonk - I hear what you are saying and agree that no-one is going to be pleased about this. But I am reconciled to it - it is how it has to be; and it is a shame to reject the alternatives (like zoom) - we should treasure the opportunities we do have to make contact by whatever means.

Gwyneth

I presume you mean me aonk* . You really have misinterpreted what I have said here. Of course I miss my family as do most people and you have upset me by implying that I don’t care. If you read my post again you will see that I want my family to be safe and well. That is CARING. As for your comment about the vaccine that is your choice but in my view it’s irresponsible. I love and care for my family that is why I will be having the vaccine as soon as my turn comes.

I agree with you. Some people are more resilient than others, but it doesn't mean they care any less.

Gwyneth I said I would be having the vaccine so I’m not irresponsible at all. I simply said I have no faith that it will produce the results that people are hoping for.

Using figures from the BBC web site I worked out there are 14 million people in the UK who will get their vaccination before me (age 67 and in group 5). Given they all need two jabs and at a rate of 140,000 a week it will be a couple of years before my turn rolls around. Sincerely hoping there is some master plan to address the sheer numbers and speed things up, but I am afraid that the vaccine may not be 'just around the corner' for some of us. I realise that fatality and infection rates should come down as more people are protected, and of course the better weather will help, but we are certainly not out of the woods. Despite all this if I were in your position Mirren I would cancel the Christmas visit. Staying in someone elses house is surely the biggest risk of all, particularly with children involved. The only thing that might make me inclined to go would be if the host family could return a couple of negative tests, maybe a week before and the day before, but I dont even know if that is possible to do.

aonk

Gwyneth I said I would be having the vaccine so I’m not irresponsible at all. I simply said I have no faith that it will produce the results that people are hoping for.

I agree with you about that.

It will be some time until scientists know the effect on transmission in the "real world".

They're very limited in a lab situation because it wouldn't be ethical to conduct an experiment with an infected person breathing over a group of people, half of whom have been vaccinated and half not.

All we do know is that trials have shown that most people get less sick. That will save lives and reduce the pressure on health services, but we just don't know any more.

Sorry correction to my last post. DH says there are 13.8 million in the queue for Covid jabs before us (we are age 67) and they each need two injections, so 27.6 million jabs need to be given before our turn rolls around. Even if they are vaccinating 1 million a week we are in for quite a wait. Sorry to be gloomy. Better weather hopefully will turn up first.

I would not travel this Christmas. Your son would be much more disappointed if you caught the virus and were hospitalised (or worse). You say you are a GP. What would you advise me to do if I came to you for advice? We have come this far with minimal contact with our families. Put off travelling for a bit longer to help everyone to keep safe.