Cases on the up

Yes Rosie I had my vaccinations with my booster in October so only 5 months in and caught CoviD hopefully I ve got another 6 months immunity now but my daughter had CoviD in November and again now and had had all her jabs all we can say is we ve all just had heavy fluey colds nothing more

The U.K. clinical study on the relation of vitamin D to Covid outcomes appears to have been delayed/suppressed again. The trial, by Queen Mary University of London, ended in June 2021, with results originally expected in October; then pushed back to 28 February 2022. Still not published!
clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04579640

Meanwhile the corresponding Isreali study was published mid-February shows a significant benefit in maintaining vitamin D levels.
journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0263069

BlueBelle

Yes Rosie I had my vaccinations with my booster in October so only 5 months in and caught CoviD hopefully I ve got another 6 months immunity now but my daughter had CoviD in November and again now and had had all her jabs all we can say is we ve all just had heavy fluey colds nothing more

I didn’t even have a cold with Covid and my husband said he had worse hangovers
Have given up bothering about catching it now

It would be nice if my parents, who are in their nineties could be that sanguine about it Rosie1959.

My daughter in law has had covid three times. The first was very early on, and severe. The most recent was mild, but left her with vertigo, which is horrible. Her husband is undergoing chemo at the moment, so his immune system is compromised. Between them they have a 7 year old to cope with. Covid is still a danger.

Let me get the caveats over first...I'm not denying, I'm not minimising, I'm not saying its not still an issue. I know Covid's not the same as flu and I know there's always Long Covid. But...

But in the doom and gloom, there is always a positive to think about.

Right now, at this moment, Covid has a lower mortality risk than flu.

twitter.com/jburnmurdoch/status/1501886435145699328

The trouble is you have no idea which way this wretched thing is going to go if you catch it. We have a young family member with long covid and a ruined start to a working life. On the other hand older friends with multiple problems have skated through.

And amen to that I don’t disagree at all volver like all colds and flu some have it worse than others some have picked up a bigger load some have better or worse immune systems it’s all relative and I totally agree we have to stop treating it with fear
It’s here to stay let’s get on getting on

Casdon

It would be nice if my parents, who are in their nineties could be that sanguine about it Rosie1959.

I can only say how I feel about it obviously not everyone will feel the same
My stepmom who will be 90 this year says sod Covid I’ve got to this ripe age somethings going to get me.

I wish my parents felt the same rosie1959 but my mum in particular is very anxious, isolation for the last two years has been very difficult for them, and she has lost her confidence.

Casdon

I wish my parents felt the same rosie1959 but my mum in particular is very anxious, isolation for the last two years has been very difficult for them, and she has lost her confidence.

That is so sad Casdon Covid has caused so many more problems than the illness itself.
My stepmum apart from the initial lockdown has managed to get out and about as much as possible even a couple of holidays with her son

I have a mother who is 97 and has carers but so far hasn’t caught it, and I am not overly cautious but aware.
I tend to look at the latest research, and there are so many variables that are still unknown about covid that we cannot be too glib.
I am just surprised that some people say with certainty that this will just evolve to be like the common cold in the future, when even the scientists aren’t yet certain of this.
There is for example ongoing research into long term effects of covid, not only long covid, but how the virus affects the brain even if the infection hasn’t been severe.

The cases are up again for the seventh day running. 71,000 cases reported today. And whilst most people will have a mild dose, I heard today about two people aged only 40 who have both died, so it’s certainly not mild for everyone.

In the words of Prof Peter Openshaw, of the Government New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, as reported in Guardian today, I think it’s a shame that the message seems to have got out to the population is that it’s all over and we don’t need to be cautious any more.

My own county hospital has had an increase of covid patients admitted which of course impacts on non covid care yet again.

ShazzaKanazza Yes, I have seen some scientists say Omicron is actually good news. But you wouldn't know it from the media. Still all scare tactics. Money has been made and more to be.

I live in America, in California. Our dim witt governor still has us all under the state of emergency whilst we literally hosted the Super Bowl.

Cases are down but there are bills sitting in the state capital that are aiming to force vaccinations even for those companies that have decided not to, force it in order for little kids to go to school, and various other tactics like making police enforce it and any Covid regulations (they do not right now) plus a bill that gives the right to vaccinate parent's children without their consent.

Hopefully none of those will pass; there is a lot of opposition to it.

Meanwhile, my own experience is that about 4 vaccinated friends of mine in the last month have come down with Covid. One ended up with pneumonia; another in the hospital. The other two were ok although one said it was like his lungs were on fire.

I meanwhile did get two illnesses in the last 2 years; maybe Covid maybe not. Seemed like the flu. I'm not vaccinated and have no intention; lucky I'm retired and my family don't care about whether or not I have it. Only two of them vaccinated but are not for forced vaccines.

Seems the treatments now are antibiotics and steroids', much like for the flu. Everyone I know was treated this way. So strange how the media never mentions the success of that combo. Goes against the narrative I guess.

But Omicron is indeed good news of a virus starting to weaken. I really didn't see the scientists saying that on TV at all, only on social media but very thinly spread. Seems the powers that be don't want it to go away.

volver

Let me get the caveats over first...I'm not denying, I'm not minimising, I'm not saying its not still an issue. I know Covid's not the same as flu and I know there's always Long Covid. But...

But in the doom and gloom, there is always a positive to think about.

Right now, at this moment, Covid has a lower mortality risk than flu.

twitter.com/jburnmurdoch/status/1501886435145699328

And the caveats on the same Twitter thread from the same author:

John Burn-Murdoch
@jburnmurdoch
·
Mar 10
In Jan/Feb 2022, Covid is still increasing the winter respiratory death toll by around 50% compared to a typical year.

As we know, vaccines and Omicron have made Covid far less lethal on a per-infection basis, but sheer volume of infections means risk of death remains elevated

And there are more caveats to the "Covid is now no worse than flu" line:

First, we know Covid is not only a threat during winter. If that red line bumps upwards again in the coming months (more on this in a moment...), that would further increase mortality risk relative to flu.

And second, I think a lot of people still fail to appreciate quite how much work reduced social mixing has continued to do...
John Burn-Murdoch

Total mortality from major respiratory diseases has actually been lower this winter than a typical flu season for young adults and children.

That’s because of less flu/pneumonia than if we were all mixing at pre-pandemic levels.

Now, back to Covid’s threat extending beyond winter:

Whereas flu is typically waning by March, the number of Covid-positive patients in English hospitals has been rising again in the last couple of weeks.

Yes we're all doomed. We'll have no optimism here. Pick up a hair shirt on your way out, please.

We both have Covid. The evening before MrOops tested positive he tested Negative, if he had still been working he would have gone to work, the next morning he tested Positive.
He feels like he has the flu, sore throat, runny nose, headache.
No fever, no cough and he is 5 days in, he tested Positive again this morning.
I also tested Positive this morning, similar symptoms but no sore throat (yet?) but any cold or cough usually ends up with an asthma problem so we will see.
We always wear a mask when in shops, but MrOops had lunch with a friend who tested Positive the day after, the day they met he tested negative.
We didn’t get much warning, ok one day, not ok the next.

volver

Yes we're all doomed. We'll have no optimism here. Pick up a hair shirt on your way out, please.

Now you're being ridiculous. I do fond your attitude surprising, especially considering you claim to be a scientist.

I'm a scientist who looks at what could happen, how we could make things better. I'm not a scientist who thinks that the worst case scenario is the most likely and that everything else must be sacrificed to that.

If scientists aren't allowed to be optimistic, where will that lead?

It was optimistic scientists that built the modern world, not the ones saying it could all go wrong so we better not have any hopes or ambitions.

Also, the "claim" claim is a bit obvious, don't you think?

You describe human thought prejudices very well volver, scientists or not.
None of us are truly independent but are influenced by many diverse things and we look for evidence which backs up our beliefs, it’s natural. “Confirmation bias”.
Some are more optimistic and some more pessimistic in outlook. The skill is seeing from both angles that is tricky.

I'm generally pessimistic Farzanah. DH tells me off for catastrophising.

But if there is something positive happening, why not celebrate it?

Yesterday I wore a mask as I always do in the supermarket.

The maskless young woman behind me in the checkout queue told me in no uncertain terms that covid was "all over"

She was obviously unaware of the fact that cases are rising nationally, our local infection rate is twice the national average and in the last week 58 people have been admitted to our local hospital with covid and some have died.

It costs nothing to wear a mask in shops and on public transport, but such simple precautions can save lives, not to mention the misery of long covid.

Why did our government have to give the "all clear" and boast about how we've been the best / first/ world beating country to defeat covid? And why do the readers of the right wing tabloids swallow up the propaganda?

Oopsadaisy1:

'We didn’t get much warning, ok one day, not ok the next.'

With Omicron, you can test negative - then be positive and infectious an hour later. Still, we test before visiting family and friends. Others won't bother when they have to pay for tests.

The young woman behind you in the queue at the supermarket was unbelievably rude varian. You should have turned round and told her the facts that you’ve just told us. I agree with you about ending the restrictions. The one restriction I really despair about losing is the one that mandated Covid sufferers to remain at home for five days and then show two negative tests before being released from isolation. It’s not a lot to ask is it? Just stay at home if you’re positive. That is the one that is likely to be responsible for the fast spread of Covid since the ending of restrictions.