Perhaps our situation with covid is looking up

Well why are there only so many resources in the NHS? We’ve had a pandemic for 2 years and there’s still telling us the NHS isn’t up to it. I know its not possible to magic up doctors and nurses, but have we done anything to make the NHS more robust and capable of dealing with a new disease that’s never going away, can someone tell me? Or are we all expected to change our behaviour forever because politically the NHS isn’t being properly funded?

Every winter we had warnings about pressure on the NHS because of epidemics of flu, so this has only exacerbated a stressful situation caused by underfunding and lack of capacity in the NHS.

At some point it may be that Covid cases will be reduced to the levels of seasonal flu, the death rate will be down to that of annual flu so will we still be subject to restrictions, mask wearing? If not, will having both flu and Covid circulating in future mean unsustainable year-round pressure on the NHS unless the lack of funding is tackled as a matter of urgency?
Add to that the backlog of cases too.
It can't continue as it is. The Government needs to tackle this now.

Younger people haven't got the same immunity as older ones because those of us who are older have lived through and also gained a certain amount of immunity from virus's that have been around for many years.
Because of vaccination programmes against various diseases over the past years, children/ youths will have been immunised against what we know as " childhood illnesses " so therefore their own immune systems will be compromised in a way because their bodies haven't built their own immunity, it's been artificially induced.

Much as I'm for immunisation against illnesses/ diseases, the fact that this generation hasn't built up their own immunity renders them open to any alien virus that normally the body would fight against.

Those of us at certain ages will remember these childhood illnesses and mothers who would bung the children out to play with those who were covered in spots not that we noticed much as kids as we were too busy playing. Everything involved getting dirty outside, mud for pretend pies, our hands worked overtime, never washed while playing except when we came in for tea.

I had most of the childhood illnesses like everyone did, but inadvertently caught scarlet fever too and was whizzed off to an isolation hospital as was the child next door. No vaccinations against any of these illnesses then, until measles reared its ugly head and a vaccination programme helped to wipe it out and that's been on-going since as the virus/ bacteria which caused it mutated and created an unwanted illness in children of modern day age.

The reason now for compulsory vaccination in our time is because of the amount of travelling that we do now, by air particularly. Gone are the days when you were vaccinated if visiting certain countries, though it still should be necessary if there's a hint of a certain sickness---typhoid for instance where water isn't 100% which means that eating salads/ ices is dodgy. Climate change will alter water systems.

Whatever vaccination is on offer, or suggested if going abroad----take it ! I did, in the past and it paid off. I've lost count of the needles that I've had I can remember a typhoid/ yellow fever vaccine still being in my system 6 months on.

I’m don’t feel I’m artificially cheerful, but the proper facts and analysis helps me to cope and to be reasonably optimistic. At the same time I am afraid of catching the virus again because I don’t want to be that ill again. I realise that’s unlikely but I still feel the fear, and so I prefer to look for the positives where they can be found.
GrannyGravy, I also find the posts of Alegrias heartening as they are always based on facts and are not swayed by emotional over reactions.

Thanks GG13. They are just my opinions, based on my analysis of the facts, and as we're so often told, everybody's entitled to their opinions on here

I try to look for positives in most situations, especially since the emergence of Covid. To constantly dwell on negativity would be detrimental to my mental health and general well-being.

Alegrias1 I have agreed with your knowledgeable and educational posts regarding the pandemic since day one.

It is perhaps that very fear which has lead some to be less than gleeful during covid times that has actually lead others to be more outwardly cheerful and positive.

I am cheered by people who acknowledge the awfulness we are all going through and are cheerful regardless.

Complete cheerfulness because of ignoring facts irritates me no end.

That's the picture...

I may download that for future use...

.

Witzend

Sorry, Alegrias1, but I don’t quite understand your reasoning.

If being vaccinated greatly reduces your chances of being seriously ill, or ill enough to need hospital treatment, that factor is surely going to show in the relative numbers of vaxxed/unvaxxed in hospital?

And out of interest, who says that people won’t understand the figures?

The only people I know locally who’ve been seriously ill with COVID since vaccination has been available, are 3 x 60 something male siblings, who ended up in hospital for 2-3 weeks each. All were completely unvaccinated because they ‘weren’t sure’.
Having all come out of hospital extremely weak, they are certainly ‘sure’ now.

Suppose that we were all vaxxed, or 99% of us. In that case there would still be people getting ill from Covid and so the vast majority of people in hospital would be vaxxed.

The people who end up in hospital because of Covid may have all kinds of underlying conditions, or none at all. At the moment a large proportion of the people who are boosted will be older, or will be vulnerable. So if we compare with people who are younger, with fewer co-morbidities, their chances of going to hospital could well be higher than the unvaccinated.

So in summary, the more people who are vaccinated, relatively more people in hospital will be vaccinated than not.

Now when the BBC can't even effectively explain why the number of deaths in a day looks higher than it really is, what chance is there of them explaining why it is that most people in hospital will have been vaccinated? The anti-vaxxers would have a field day.

Far be it from me to defend the BBC but anyone who watches their news bulletins fairly regularly will remember that the newsreader often says, when reading out the seemingly quite low deaths over the weekend, that the data is usually delayed at the weekend.
Then come Monday and Tuesday they appear higher as they include some of the weekend figures.
Obviously then the Christmas period will produce a similar effect.

I noticed the high number of deaths but realised with relief that there was a explanation for it!

maddyone

^I really find the negativity in the newspapers and on social media tiresome at the moment.^

Me too.

Me too

Sorry, Alegrias1, but I don’t quite understand your reasoning.

If being vaccinated greatly reduces your chances of being seriously ill, or ill enough to need hospital treatment, that factor is surely going to show in the relative numbers of vaxxed/unvaxxed in hospital?

And out of interest, who says that people won’t understand the figures?

The only people I know locally who’ve been seriously ill with COVID since vaccination has been available, are 3 x 60 something male siblings, who ended up in hospital for 2-3 weeks each. All were completely unvaccinated because they ‘weren’t sure’.
Having all come out of hospital extremely weak, they are certainly ‘sure’ now.

I do feel if -everyone- and I mean -everyone- was vaccinated and wore masks this would die out quickly, but since some choose not to, the disease will produce another variant, milder than the last. then another milder than the previous and so on until it's just a mild inconveniemce. it could take another year or two for this to happen. That's my feelings on the matter.

Sorry to hear you are all positive Witzend, I hope you all continue to have mild symptoms.

The reason they don't publicise the number of people in hospital and their vaccination status is that people won't understand it. Sorry to be blunt. Despite all the posters on these forums telling us that doctors/nurses have told them that the wards are full of unvaccinated people, that's just not true. The wards are full of both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

The important thing is how many people are affected badly after vaccination compared to the unvaccinated. And your individual chances of being ill after you've been vaccinated are much, much smaller than they would have been.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1043608/Vaccine_surveillance_report_-_week_51.pdf

We’ve managed to get both LTF and home PCR test kits in the last few days - dh managed a booked test - and so have all those* we saw over Christmas, who have all now tested positive, despite all having self tested negative with LFTs before meeting up.
However we’re all either asymptomatic or have only fairly mild cold symptoms.
*that includes one who is classed as vulnerable to some extent.

And a brother, who was elsewhere but is also classed as vulnerable, has also tested positive but again, has only mild cold symptoms.
So on the whole we’re fairly optimistic.

One thing I think that really should be publicised, or rather much better publicised, if it already is - is the relative numbers of vaccinated and non-vaccinated who end up in hospital. Not that I suppose anything will convince the likes of Piers Corbyn and his barmy hordes that it’s not all a gigantic plot by Bill Gates to control us all.

Nobody’s ever accused me of being a Pollyanna.

It is possible to see positives in the way that the omicron wave is developing and still appreciate that the NHS is in trouble. They are separate but linked. If the omicron wave is less of a problem than it could have been, then that’s a good thing and we need to be positive about that.

The fact that there are no more restrictions on the cards for England, but there are surge hubs being built is causing mixed messages. Its only an extra 800 beds across the whole of England, that’s a drop ion the ocean, I think. It seems to me that we are only working on one side of the equation; there are only so many resources in the NHS so its incumbent on us not to get sick. Well why are there only so many resources in the NHS? We’ve had a pandemic for 2 years and there’s still telling us the NHS isn’t up to it. I know its not possible to magic up doctors and nurses, but have we done anything to make the NHS more robust and capable of dealing with a new disease that’s never going away, can someone tell me? Or are we all expected to change our behaviour forever because politically the NHS isn’t being properly funded?

So the BMA, the doctors’ union, think there should have been more restrictions in England. I agree with them. But they are a pressure group and in my experience, doctor err on the side of caution. DH had a very bad sports injury many years ago and was told by the doctor he’d never take part in that sport again. A few years later he was national champion. You’ll forgive me if I find a doctor’s view of things just a little bit negative.

Finally, why would the Beeb just give the basic numbers for deaths without explaining what it meant? Clearly at least one person on this thread thought that deaths were increasing, and they’re not. They might in the future, they probably will, but right now, the data they gave was misleading and there’s no excuse for that. If you look at just the numbers that the BBC report, you might think that the deaths had increased six-fold in one day, which is scary by anybody’s metrics – but not true, of course. So why do they do it? Lack of understanding of the numbers? Carelessness? A desire to paint the most negative picture possible? We’ll all have our own ideas about that but none of them cast any glory on the BBC. I'm with maddyone on this one.

LadyWee whichever way you put it, deaths did not rise over Christmas. The figures the BBC quoted are covering the Christmas period. Any future deaths as a consequence of Christmas mixing, which could occur in the next two to six weeks are absolutely nothing to do with the figures the BBC quoted. We will all have to wait and see what happens to deaths in that period over the next few weeks. The BBC are as usual scaremongering, and they know full well what they are doing. I will wait for the evidence and not pre judge the situation.

Jillyjosie

Some people are more sensitive than others, some people have or have had more to cope with in their lives, some people are immunosuppressed or have family members who are, some people have family or friends who have died from Covid, some people don't have a secure income or place to live.
I'm all for facts but the trouble with pollyannas is that they often come across as complacent if not unkind.
There are people out there who are having a hard time and perhaps fear and worry lead them to be less than gleeful.

Quite

Josieann
You said it all for me, thank you. ?
I had a phone call from a friend yesterday. She has COPD ( never smoked) Angina, hiatus hernia.
She had a gastroscope a few days ago which was very unpleasant for her. Her Xmas arrangements went seriously tits up. Then she said you won’t believe it, now I’ve got a f*&£%#g cold we both howled with laughing.
My daughter said the loveliest thing on her Xmas card to me:
thank you for keeping my spirits up over the last 2years

maddyone

The 332 deaths appear to be an increase, but they cover the Christmas period. The figures are playing catch up and it’s irresponsible of the BBC to state bald facts and imply that deaths are increasing. I wonder why the BBC would want to do that?

But there is still the lag from Christmas whereby everyone was mixing together so it’s too early to say at this point regardless.

This is the issue with the media. Speak to medics on the ground and you will get how they really feel… Most feel that the government was lacklustre with its public health message and that some restrictions and measures should never have been stopped www.bma.org.uk/news-and-opinion/supporting-doctors-through-the-booster-campaign

Positivity is wonderful but the hospital admissions are significant, this does impact on the NHS staffing both on terms of absences for isolating and also general
Well-being ( sickness, lack of motivation, loss of staff) and the availability of other services and until
This is properly acknowledged and addressed we still have a big issue! Just looking at case numbers/admissions alone is simplistic and isn’t really giving a full enough picture of the issues. Ans of course the elephant in the room is always the global vaccine inequity and the variants that may arise from that issue.

The Times us leading with a story that say that NH S bosses say no further restrictions are necessary. I thought that thus was very positive, however an interview in radio 4 indicated that government levels for intervention are high and the NH S are preparing emergency hubs. Totally confused.

I have stayed upbeat for a good while now. I have avoided anyone who is all 'doom and gloom'. I am looking forward to going on holiday this year. We are on the way up!!

I've been accused (in real life) of being a bit of a Pollyanna at times, but honestly why not enjoy a bit of positivity, we've lived with the negative for almost two years.

Rosie51 I too have been accused of being a Pollyanna, on GN of all places where no one knows of others' true circumstances. That's why it saddens me to read that Jillyjosie regards it as complacency and almost one upmanship. It is the opposite of being deliberately unkind. Many people have worked very hard to remain upbeat and positive throughout the pandemic. They have put effort into helping other people, they have resolved not to panic and not to spread doom and gloom, they have commiserated with others and offered suggestions to improve life too. After all, there is no point in yet more people suffering mental anxiety than necessary by taking on even more worries and being gloomy themselves. Sometimes one person's being sunny and smiling can lift another person out of despair and if only for just 5 minutes, I think it's worth it.
By bringing so many other extraneous negative issues into the covid equation just compounds the situation, although I do acknowledge that poor health and housing is hard to cope with at any time.

It is perhaps that very fear which has lead some to be less than gleeful during covid times that has actually lead others to be more outwardly cheerful and positive.

I had a pcr test on wed..4.30pm...haven't yet received results...was told it would be 24 hours...