How are you all doing now?
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How are you all doing now?
Think I had it early on last year and doing fine thanks Rev (hope you are fully recovered).
I think the indirect effect(s) will be the issue and many are yet to materialise - sure a lot of people fee more anxious and insecure and once the financial support stops and ability to enforce legal judgements resumes I can see a few economic shocks coming down the line.
I also feel for the 14 to 25 year olds who have largely been ignored by government thinking and upon whom the burden will fall for many years.
Had it early in the days of the pandemic (February/March 2020, although this was before reliable testing, so didn't actually get tested until July, by which time some of the "long covid" symptoms had emerged (in my case heart palpitations, tightness across the chest, persistent cough), fortunately I haven't suffered from the extreme fatigue and lack of ability to concentrate that some have reported. Apart from the symptoms mentioned, I'm ok, the double vaccinations had no downside side effects for me (didn't even feel the needle go in, would have thought it hadn't if I hadn't watched!), and I for one am delighted that the majority of restrictions have been done away with and that the vaccination programme in the UK has been such a resounding success. If only the likes of Australia and New Zealand had realised you can't close the door on this thing, you have to provide protection at an immunological level, not a physical one, they might not be facing more severe lockdown measures.
Not sure I agree with the comment regarding the 14 - 25 year olds being ignored, it's more a case of government having to address the immediate economic impacts of the pandemic and the needs of the majority of "economically active" adults, with the younger cohort being pushed down the road a way so as to give head space to the immediate measures to be taken.
I suspect everyone will suffer once the government support (furlough schemes, loans to business that will have to be repaid, etc etc) is withdrawn, and I'm equally confident that NO government can be confident of managing that pain well.
Having kids in that age bracket agree to disagree - the treatment of students at university IMO was nothing short of disgraceful - not only Matt Hancock’s targeting of them for criticisms but also that they had to pay full tuition and in many cases full accommodation fees whilst largely being imprisoned in halls and not getting lectures or tutorials.
Science students typically get at least 20 hours a week in labs most got less than that in 3 terms.
I worked with University of Portsmouth on their student admin systems both before Covid hit and during the year it impacted students. The policy on accommodation wasn't one formed by government, it was done on an institution-by-institution basis (I know this as I have contacts at Southampton, with whom I also worked and their policy differed substantially from that of Portsmouth, driven by student demographics, type of courses offered etc, no "one-club-fits-all policy could have worked). Was it all good? No, not nearly =good enough, but then you could say that about just about every facet of how this pandemic has been dealt with (with possibly, here in the UK at least, the exception of the vaccination programme)
Hancock is an ar5e, and his subsequent conduct just goes to prove it, so any criticism from him can be discounted. What the universities and other education establishments do now won't depend on a blanket policy, that's not possible, given the diversity of educational provision (again, I have some knowledge as a governor at a local specialist primary), what they need is a support structure that responds by confirming acceptance of what they need in a timely fashion and equally timely provision. we won't know if either is in place and effective until the end of the first semester/term, at least.
Hancock you as the health minister so what he said was government policy - the reason so many young people are disaffected can be traced back to how the students were treated and most feel conned.
Saving people’s jobs and furloughing them is very different to selling students a vision to stop them deferring knowing the dream was not a pleasant one and making them spend money/incur significant debt.
On accommodation yes up to the universities and private providers largely but the government could have intervened yet they didn’t.
The focus back in 2020 was pretty much protecting the elderly without much thought to anyone else. That is not to say that protecting the old was not a good thing but that it did not mean others affected could not be also addressed.
I have to read widely on COVID 19 for my job and the next challenge will be how do you break the cycle of endless booster jabs not least when natural immunity (acquired from
Infection) may be at least as effective, especially in the young, as vaccination.
The lack of clarity and detailed information is appalling and seems to rely on the fact that so many people have given up on listening to the government that they no longer complain - shocking really but the approach to Brexit seems to be permeating COVID - it’s all about the message not the actual facts and whether the message is true.
There will be a lasting resentment from students who are intelligent and articulate and now think that the media and politicians are not doing their jobs properly and are not looking out for them. If they think that then I have a huge degree of sympathy with them.
I got it very early on Rev and was sick for a long time. If it was that delta stain I don't think I would have made it. The hardest part is gasping for air.
Still not right but moving along and living with it. Just had my second jab of Astra.
I am sorry for the loss of your wife. I am 61 so I'm sure we share some similar generational experiences.
Because my wife was a nurse she received much better than average care and lived. It was in spite of the government and not because of it. A local pharmaceutical company developed a drug (regeneron) and she was in a study trial. of course, the CDC opposed it and called it quackery because the wrong political party was advocating it. Later it was used on Trump with great success. Not really any different than Ivecterim, steiods and even HCQ that seem to show promise as therapeutics. Much better than a ventilator. Let's face it... at the end of the day they don't really a cure or treatments that work. They want control and power. we enable them when we don't study and follow the issue but blindly follow their ridiculous tripe on masks and vaccines. at some point (like Sweden) we'll achieve herd Immunity like we do with all viruses that become endemic. It, along with it's mutations is with us to stay like the flu and colds.