Covid - How should I protect myself now?

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everydayupsanddowns

everydayupsanddowns

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A helpful roundup of how the understanding about transmission of the virus has changed, and the current recommendations including when meeting indoors

www.bbc.co.uk

Covid: How should I protect myself from Covid now?

What are the actions we can take to reduce our risk of catching the virus?
www.bbc.co.uk
 
The way to protect yourself now is get vaccinated. It’s not rocket science. Let the people who have decilined the vaccination do the worrying about how to say safe.
 
mikeyB said:
The way to protect yourself now is get vaccinated. It’s not rocket science. Let the people who have decilined the vaccination do the worrying about how to say safe.
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Yes in theory. But lots of adults still can’t get the vaccine even those working in shops and schools because of their age. And children can’t get the vaccines either. The more people who are vaccinated the better it is for everyone but it’s not as simple as people declining the vax.

The info in the article is good and clearly laid out. Even vaccinated I won’t be in any rush to ditch my mask in high density areas or indoors with other people. Especially as both my kids are vulnerable (1 with diabetes and the other asthmatic) and unable to be vaccinated yet and with the government leaning away from prioritising children getting vaccinated.
 
mikeyB said:
The way to protect yourself now is get vaccinated. It’s not rocket science. Let the people who have decilined the vaccination do the worrying about how to say safe.
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This also looks like an alternative to avoid hospitalisation. The oxford study found this common asthma treatment a very effective way to treat covid19.

"inhaled budesonide reduced the relative risk of requiring urgent care or hospitalisation by 90% in the 28-day study period."

www.ox.ac.uk

Common asthma treatment reduces need for hospitalisation in COVID-19 patients, study suggests | University of Oxford

Early treatment with a medication commonly used to treat asthma appears to significantly reduce the need for urgent care and hospitalisation in people with COVID-19, researchers at the University of Oxford have found.
www.ox.ac.uk www.ox.ac.uk
 
Amity Island said:
Any idea why the difference between oxford and nhs in their conclusion?
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Looks to me from that report linked to by Bruce that the impact on deaths and hospitalisations has not yet been established.
In other words, it's too early to say "it's an alternative to..." and that the best we can say is that "it MAY be an alternative to..." until efficacy is proven. This is science working exactly as it should do to help prevent potential damage to patients as much as possible.
 
Amity Island said:
Any idea why the difference between oxford and nhs in their conclusion?
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I suspect the Oxford thing is a press release of the early results and the MHRA is giving advice based on slightly later results?

Or maybe they're reporting on the same thing but the MHRA is giving specific advice: by all means try it on some patients if you think it might help, but we're not (yet) that sure and stick to older (over 50) people since that's who we have at least some evidence for.

I think it's normal for early reports to be much more positive than later reports. I've no doubt there's vast quantities of studies which show X doesn't really seem to help much with Y but on the whole they never get publicity (or even published).

Regardless, it doesn't seem like this is in the dexamethasone category, where days after the press release from RECOVER people all over the world were using it because the results (in the relevant situations) were so significant. (And because it's so cheap and there's not much else to use, I imagine.)

Would be great if it turns out to work really well. (Or even marginally, for that matter.)

But still take a vaccine, because they're definitely effective.
 
Thebearcametoo said:
Yes in theory. But lots of adults still can’t get the vaccine even those working in shops and schools because of their age. And children can’t get the vaccines either. The more people who are vaccinated the better it is for everyone but it’s not as simple as people declining the vax.

The info in the article is good and clearly laid out. Even vaccinated I won’t be in any rush to ditch my mask in high density areas or indoors with other people. Especially as both my kids are vulnerable (1 with diabetes and the other asthmatic) and unable to be vaccinated yet and with the government leaning away from prioritising children getting vaccinated.
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You are describing a difficult situation that many people find themselves in.
The best thing everyone else can do for you is get doubly vaccinated and take any required boosters.

This will minimise transmission as much as is reasonably possible and give those who can't get vaccinated for medical reasons the best chance of avoiding it. Nothing else in that list will have the same impact on ending this. It must be terrible having to be so reliant on so many others who simply won't take the vaccine.
 
pm133 said:
It must be terrible having to be so reliant on so many others who simply won't take the vaccine.
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There are subgroups where there's probably an issue. My guess is there's larger groups who've found it hard to get a vaccine (site is too far away, they can't afford the possible day or two off to get through the side effects, etc.), and there's surely more that can be done to help with that.

Mostly though it seems like an excuse from the government: it's nothing to do with them, it's the fault of people who refuse to get vaccinated. But the UK's basically top of the list of countries in terms of vaccine acceptance.

(I was expecting numbers to be falling by now (now that we're at under 40s) and I'm sure they are, but not by a whole lot. I'd no longer be that surprised if we end up vaccinating over 90% of adults.)
 
Its a bit of a concern safe distancing is not being observed. but I guess the boozers and party goers are not concerned about that.

I am wondering how we can stay safe and still eat and drink inside a restaurant or pub.

Down to what risk we are personally prepared to take I guess.
 
Thought about this today. Went to dentist, then to younger daughter's to deliver her grand daughter's 5th birthday card (money inside LOL) On the way home nipped in Tescos to get bread and Pete said dammit, shall we have lunch? So we had scampi and chips in their cafe - lovely chips! Whilst eating lunch (not a grind of pepper to be seen) I suddenly had a terrible tickle at the back of my throat and trying to stifle coughs, I did an enormous violent and noisy sneeze - OK I caught most of it in my serviette - and I don't appear to be ill - but nobody else in Tesco knew that.

If you'd been buying eg a book nearby - what would you have wondered about me?
 
trophywench said:
I suddenly had a terrible tickle at the back of my throat and trying to stifle coughs, I did an enormous violent and noisy sneeze - OK I caught most of it in my serviette - and I don't appear to be ill - but nobody else in Tesco knew that.

If you'd been buying eg a book nearby - what would you have wondered about me?
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Personally? Nothing. The risk of catching covid at the worst of times is small. The risk of being anything other than asymptomatic is smaller still. The risk of being hospitalised is tinier still and the risk of death is miniscule.

Then I take into consideration the fact that I've had my 1st jab and quite frankly I'm barely even giving it a second thought anymore other than the fact I have to wear this stupid, useless fabric thing from time to time.

That's my personal mindset and that of everyone I know. I do know that for others this is a bigger issue. Some of that is understandable but some of the fear is just baffling - particularly the large number of people feeling that fear.

I still believe that people will largely return to normal within a few weeks of this being over but for many people this is going to be a nightmare journey and I don't know how they are going to get themselves through it.
 
Jodee said:
I am wondering how we can stay safe and still eat and drink inside a restaurant or pub.

Down to what risk we are personally prepared to take I guess.
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That last sentence sums it up well in my opinion.
People are going to have to fathom this out for themselves.

We've had over a year of people being force-fed fear every minute of every day and it's going to take many people a long time to recover from that.
 
People in China and Japan routinely wear face masks, in China mainly to avoid traffic fumes and toxic particles from traffiic. So there was no resistance to wearing one during this epidemic, as they did during the SARS epidemic a few tears back.

I suspect that the wearing of face masks will be hardest to shake off. I won’t as soon as it is deemed unnecessary. Looking at today’s football with limited crowds, hardly anybody wore a mask, and those that did weren’t wearing them as they should. Living within 5 miles north of Blackburn, a hotspot of the Indian variant of COVID-19, I won’t be doffing my Blackburn Rovers face mask anytime soon, even though I’m fully vaccinated. I don’t fancy getting even a mild illness from Covid exposure.
 
mikeyB said:
People in China and Japan routinely wear face masks, in China mainly to avoid traffic fumes and toxic particles from traffiic. So there was no resistance to wearing one during this epidemic, as they did during the SARS epidemic a few tears back.

I suspect that the wearing of face masks will be hardest to shake off. I won’t as soon as it is deemed unnecessary. Looking at today’s football with limited crowds, hardly anybody wore a mask, and those that did weren’t wearing them as they should. Living within 5 miles north of Blackburn, a hotspot of the Indian variant of COVID-19, I won’t be doffing my Blackburn Rovers face mask anytime soon, even though I’m fully vaccinated. I don’t fancy getting even a mild illness from Covid exposure.
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If you genuinely believe masks will protect you then you should do whatever makes you feel safer. You won't be alone in doing this and are well within your rights to do whatever you want in this regard.
 
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I use the mask as a flag for social distancing, and out of politeness, to be honest. And to make others feel guilty.
 
mikeyB said:
I use the mask as a flag for social distancing, and out of politeness, to be honest. And to make others feel guilty.
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That first bit is exactly why the government introduced them and made their use legally enforceable.

I'm not sure what you mean by politeness in this regard. It's not a politeness issue.

To make other people feel guilty?
Guilty about what?
Nobody is obliged to make me feel safer when the thing I'm asking them to do doesn't achieve that objective. That would be on me surely?
BTW, don't get me wrong. If I thought for one second that these things actually worked, I'd be a strong advocate for them. The bulk of your breath goes straight out the sides of your mask taking moisture and any virus with it. Anyone wearing glasses and having to deal the steaming up can testify to that.
 
Perhaps politeness is not quite the right word. It’s all part of making other people feel more comfortable, whatever I think about their usefulness.
 
pm133 said:
If you genuinely believe masks will protect you then you should do whatever makes you feel safer. You won't be alone in doing this and are well within your rights to do whatever you want in this regard.
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My (layman's) understanding is that the mask provides a little protection to me and more protection to others.
I am happy to put up with a little discomfort when shopping to reduce the risk further of potentially passing on asymptomatic covid to someone who has not had the jab or is at at greater risk than I am.
 
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