Lifting all Covid resrictions- how do you feel about it?

No I dont think that's a helpful phrase either volver. I dont think much of the discourse, (everywhere not specific towards GN), towards the unvaccinated is helpful either.

To be fair, Marydoll, the NHS (in England at least) no longer use the terms CV or CEV. They use the term "high risk" for everybody with a defined condition. Age in itself doesn't make somebody "high risk" (according to the NHS), which seems a bit silly because we know that age over 60 especially is a risk factor.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/people-at-higher-risk/who-is-at-high-risk-from-coronavirus/

Thanks Growstuff, for the info and your measured posts.
The use of the word paranoid indicates an unpleasant and discriminatory attitude towards some of us on here.
That's what I meant by negativity.

I remember at the very beginning of the virus one of my friends saying I was paranoid regarding my adult daughter with LDs catching and dying from it and a few months later the statistic showed that people with severe LDs were significantly at a much higher risk of dying from covid

I have gone off people a bit

MayBee70

Marydoll

This use of the word paranoid, is actually quite offensive.

Paranoia is, I believe, fear of something that can’t possibly happen which, when it comes to a novel virus is totally the wrong term to use. And yes, it is offensive.

... being 'aware' and being cautious, is not paranoia.

We all have the survival instinct and taking pragmatic and sensible precautions, is not paranoia.

Believing that world governments have conspired to invent a fake virus so they can institute some great "reset", or that vaccines contain a microchip designed to track your every move; and / or that governments' initial and necessarily hasty responses to a pandemic which demanded certain temporary restrictions to people's movements in the interests of public health - is a planned attack on their personal freedom and civil rights... that's 'paranoia'.

... and it is offensive to use the word loosely to describe a group of people, vulnerable or otherwise, who would prefer not to have someone breathing down their neck who may be infected, in an environment in which they have no choice other than to be in. Long before the pandemic, that is something most people would try to avoid. And now they have a logical reason to do that.

There may be a few individuals who are genuinely paranoid about the virus (and possibly other aspects of their lives) but I suspect they are the minority and they don't represent the majority of people who are cautious about being infected with a virus - a virus that still has a lot of questions hanging over it, not to mention a government that has determined that anyone infected can make their own decisions as to whether or not to isolate.

Yeah me too Jane. I think sometimes things happen that shine a light on how a specific group of people are viewed. I think covid did this with regards to people with disabilities.

Galaxy

No I dont think that's a helpful phrase either volver. I dont think much of the discourse, (everywhere not specific towards GN), towards the unvaccinated is helpful either.

Agreed

I’m not paranoid. I have an unvaccinated adult severely disabled son - part of a group that has a higher death rate. He hasn’t been able to be vaccinated because he cannot tolerate any medical intervention without a GA. So he’s not going to be way too treat, should treatment be needed. He is a young man, so I suspect would not be acutely seriously unwell, but if he responds in the way his very healthy brother did (repeated post covid infections eventually requiring hospital treatment), his placement would be at risk due to deterioration in behaviour.

So I’d say that avoiding covid in his case is entirely sensible. Unfortunately he cannot wear a mask so it’s up to those around him to take precautions.

I accept and have never criticised those who continue to consider they need to isolate or wear masks.

DHs infection left him with a badly damaged lung and breathing difficulties and he cannot wear a mask, but we are going back to normal living because the probability of getting an infection is low and the range of drugs available mean that if he did pick up COVID,it is unlikely to rquire him to be admitted to hospital.

The question that no one seems willing to answer is when will those still wearing masks and so on consider that it is safe to return to normal living?

I was hoping that mask wearing would continue and that our culture had changed. I’d hoped that we’d learned something from eastern countries that wear masks when they have a cold so they can protect others. I think, because of antibiotics, we’ve become complacent about catching viruses. Years ago I was temping in a small office. The office manager was quite elderly and had worked there for a long time (it was quite Dickensian). I had a bad cold and I remember him being angry with me for blowing my nose and throwing the tissues in a bin in the office. I remember thinking he was a rude silly old man but as I got older I realised that he was from a time when coughs and sneezes could make people seriously ill and I was being young and foolish.

M0nica

I accept and have never criticised those who continue to consider they need to isolate or wear masks.

DHs infection left him with a badly damaged lung and breathing difficulties and he cannot wear a mask, but we are going back to normal living because the probability of getting an infection is low and the range of drugs available mean that if he did pick up COVID,it is unlikely to rquire him to be admitted to hospital.

The question that no one seems willing to answer is when will those still wearing masks and so on consider that it is safe to return to normal living?

I rarely go out now and I honestly don’t know how I feel about my wearing or not wearing a mask when I do go out.
Our dentist, surgery and several other venues still want you to wear masks.
I am fully vaccinated and bolstered so should be ok if I were to catch Covid so why am I hesitant?
No easy answer for me ?

Boostered not bolstered....though a glance in the mirror tells me otherwise!

Reading a page or two of comments on this thread.... I think the word paranoia was used in the same way as phobia is used a great deal nowadays, i.e. not meaning very much at all because when you analyse what they actually mean, that isn't how they're being used in most circumstances, and certainly not on a casual online chat thread.

The main reason masks are worn in Asian countries is to protect people from the appalling air pollution in many of their cities, not protect against infection, though this is a secondary result.

M0nica

The main reason masks are worn in Asian countries is to protect people from the appalling air pollution in many of their cities, not protect against infection, though this is a secondary result.

Yes.

Monica, in answer to your question: The question that no one seems willing to answer is when will those still wearing masks and so on consider that it is safe to return to normal living? I have no answer.
For me, there are a number of factors to consider:

•Daily numbers in my area (The are rising again)t
•Advice from the Scottish Chief Medical Officer and the
National Clinical Director, both of whom I trust
•The advice of my numerous clinicians
•What the scientists say
•Deaths from Covid, hospital admissions, especially in
ICU
•My health on a particular day

I certainly won't be taking the advice of the ill informed on GN. (That is not directed at you, by the way, Monica.)

As an aside, the extremely expensive medication, I inject myself with, is actually one of those that you claim will prevent your husband being admitted to hospital. There is now a worldwide shortage, due to it being used in Covid ICU. It is being delivered to me in dribs and drabs, which is quite worrying. I have even received a letter from the Managing Director of the pharmaceutical company in Switzerland, who make this drug, apologising for this shortage.
I often think of the irony of this, for this is the medication which is making me immunocompromised and more at risk from catching Covid. How does that work?

I too am exempt from mask wearing, having three separate lung conditions, but the advice of my consultants is to try and wear one, regardless of how difficult it is. It is not a pleasant feeling at all. It is my informed choice to wear one.

How can you possibly be so sure that your husband will not become very ill, if he contracts Covid? No-one can predict the outcome. There are so many variables involved.
Therefore, I will continue to be cautious, not paranoid, or scared as has been suggested by some posters.

It is no-one's business if I choose to wear a mask, that is my right.

Hear hear Marydoll. I will continue to wear a mask because I am cautious too. I have no wish to catch covid. My immune system is compromised and I live alone. Why would I put myself at risk?

But also what do you mean by back to normal. I am not vulnerable but there are a number of things I wont do that I used to do pre pandemic. I think many people have altered their behavior. I will never do my admin in the office anymore thank God. That is trivial compared to the issues many on here are facing but I do find the phrase back to normal odd, normal is different for each individual.

A very good post Marydoll It must be very frustrating for you to keep explaining the reality of your life and why it is thoughtless and unkind to assume that those who are not “getting back to normal” are misguided or simply wrong and letting the side down in some way.
This IS the “new” normal and things may never be as they were but we gradually learn to adapt and manage our own circumstances as best we can.

Thank you to those, who understand where I am coming from. I do appreciate your positive comments.
Farzanah, you have summed it up very well.
My GP said exactly the same thing last night.
My life will never get back to normal. I know that for certain, I have accepted that and will adapt.
I'm am a strong and resilient woman. I certainly haven't given up!

I'm curious as how many on here only rely on the media for misinformation and do not look at other sources.

marydoll I am not saying my husband will not get very ill if he develops COVID, but our assessment of the situation is that while it is possible - and I too could get it and die, the probability of the disease being dangerous or fatal have fallen to a level that is acceptable.

We all live our lives doing activities that have a risk attached to them and the accumulation of those risks increases, but we still drive, visit shops, do gardening, crossroads, socialise with friends, visit doctors surgeries and hospita,l eat out in eating establishements. COVID is just another of those risks we have to live with.

In our case we have decided the risk is acceptable. You are, quite rightly, making your decision on your particular circcumstances, which are clearly exceptional, but there are people on this thread that are not dealing with heightened risk from other conditions as you are, but are still wanting to continue masks and everything else. I would be interested to know what their conditions for relaxation would be.

You ask who relies on media for information. Well, if accessing academic articles online counts as media, I do, but my whole working life and my hobbies were/are based on researching for information, assessing its reliability and judging its quality. I do the same with any information I quote on GN (usually with the approrpiate link)

* The question that no one seems willing to answer is when will those still wearing masks and so on consider that it is safe to return to normal living?*

I don’t think this is answerable - that’s why no-one’s willing to answer it. For two years CEV people have been told Covid will likely kill us, and we’ve now been told by government that we should follow individual medical advice once restrictions end. A great many CEV people have little or no resistance to Covid because the vaccines offer little or no protection, and can only follow medical guidance. So for a good many of us it’s not safe to return to ‘normal living’ and masks and shielding will still be a fact of life for some time to come until medical advice is that Covid has reached a low enough level to not be the threat it is at the moment.

Monica, I think you know I am not referring to you, since you often report your sources and comment on your research.

I should have made myself clearer.
My reference was concerning those who rely on social, like Facebook etc, don't check the veracity of what they have read on a random internet site, one sided reporting from the tabloids and what a family member or neighbour has told them.
There are a fair number on GN, who trot out Covid conspiracy theories time and time again, without being able to back them up.

What I take exception to is being branded paranoid for being cautious, sensible and balancing the risks for me personally.
No matter how much posters try to give dictionary definitions and excuse the comment, my perception is that it was intentionally offensive.
I stand by that.

I accept that you say, you and your husband have weighed up the risks and made a decision on how to live your life. That is your choice.
However you have implied, whether intentionally or not, that is the only way forward.
That decision viable for some of us.
Posters should respect the decisions made and not mock those who are cautious and making their way back to normality at a slower pace.

Apologies for the typos, I'm trying to do this on my phone.

M0nica

The main reason masks are worn in Asian countries is to protect people from the appalling air pollution in many of their cities, not protect against infection, though this is a secondary result.

This is not true. Fake news etc. I lived in Japan in the countryside and my colleagues wore masks when they had colds. They told me they wore masks when they had colds and I observed them wearing masks when they had colds.