I'm thinking that eventually we'll have to stop hiding from the virus. Vaccinate, wear masks, stay out of steamy crowded situations and get on with our lives. We will never get back to 2019. The world has changed forever. Accept it.
Funny you should say that @punkdoc as that is the way I always approach the medical profession. ie If this was your mother, son, daughter what would you do? It's a good way of getting their true opinion without asking them what you should do.
We vaccinate young children against rubella for the greater good rather than for their own benefit … so as far as I can see there’s nothing new ethically in vaccinating them against Covid for the greater good either.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
There is another element to the question though - should the available vaccines be used now for health workers and vulnerable people in other parts of the world before we vaccinate the least vulnerable members of our society?
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I live in an area currently with one of the highest infection rates in the country. Yet in the past 7 days there have been only 6 people admitted to hospital and no deaths. Covid at one time was the highest cause of death in the UK,it is now around 24th so there are 23 other things that could kill you before Covid. In the whole of this pandemic I only know 2 people that have had it (both last year). That does not mean we need to be complacent about the risks but just get it in proportion. I still wear a mask etc in crowded places but otherwise things are back to as normal as possible.
4,565,483 deaths
Source:World Health Organization
Data may be incomplete for the current day or week.
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
What I find slightly strange is that originally the scientists seemed to be saying that the virus isn't finished until it's finished around the world. It needed a worldwide view to contain it. Now we seem to have become totally isolationist - we're ok, stuff the rest - type view. I personally don't see how letting the numbers run riot here works if you ever want to get back to normal as 'the world' - I'm amazed anyone lets anyone from the British Isles into their country given the high rates over here. Fine, I follow that vaccination also means someone infected is less infectious - but they are still infectious from what I can gather. Are high numbers now acceptable locally if you take a global view? I thought I understood the original reasoning, but now I'm a bit lost. To me high numbers meant:
- More chance of variants
- More chance of long covid
- More chance of those who can't be vaccinated contracting the illness
- More chance of exporting the virus elsewhere
...and the bit that vaccinations affected, or seemed to affect,most...
- More chance of swamping the NHS
Given that it seems it is no longer a political issue, we seem to get scant info from the science community on the public broadcast services - I'd personally like to see a non political scientific review of where we're at, and where we want/need to be (locally and globally).
Most people where I live are wearing masks in shops. It's annoying that the shops are allowing sanitiser to run out. Touching an empty sanitiser seems to be a perfect way to spread the virus
I still wear a mask doing the weekly food shop - and if I go into any shop for click and collect. I would say it's still about a 60/40 split in favour of people wearing masks in the SM - no age factor in those that don't wear masks that's obvious - it's a complete mix. The SM has ditched the trolley cleaning stations, although they do still have hand sanitiser pumps for the customers.
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Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
George Bernard Shaw'