I haven’t seen much about boosters or the new variant in the media here. But I will probably try and get a booster if I can ahead of my Christmas travel plans

I came down with a respiratory illness a few weeks ago that felt Covid-y, although whilst I had it I continually tested negative, so I’m not sure whether it was a variant that doesn’t show up on the older tests or something else entirely. I ended up missing work for a few days with it, and it went on for so long that I was prescribed antibiotics to get it shifted, something I really don’t like taking for reasons I’ve mentioned over the years, and something I didn’t have to do even when I was off sick for a week with COVID. I haven’t had a booster since it stopped being mandatory, but will likely look into it once it’s rolled out to my age range.

I came down with a respiratory illness a few weeks ago that felt Covid-y, although whilst I had it I continually tested negative, so I’m not sure whether it was a variant that doesn’t show up on the older tests or something else entirely. I ended up missing work for a few days with it, and it went on for so long that I was prescribed antibiotics to get it shifted, something I really don’t like taking for reasons I’ve mentioned over the years, and something I didn’t have to do even when I was off sick for a week with COVID. I haven’t had a booster since it stopped being mandatory, but will likely look into it once it’s rolled out to my age range.

It isn't even being made available for my age range yet.

Sorry to hear people are still getting poorly from Covid or Covid-a-like, I def have had my fitness challenged this year following a Xmas/New Year bout of Covid and subsequent A.N.Other. My suspicion is that Covid jabs will be quietly forgotten, there's been no mention of them at all, and all free testing has been done away with (?) - "what you don't know won't hurt you". It might potentially kill you, but at least you won't worry about it.

 

The thing is, the death rates overall since 2020 are still higher than usual across most of the Western world in comparison to previous average years, when expectations should be they are the very least normal now (and realistically that they are lower due to the wiping out of a large chunk of vulnerable people who might be expected to die from flu if they hadnt already died from Covid). Listed Covid deaths don't account for all of the increase, and it's not just older people, death rates are up across some other age groups. Maybe we just all stopped being as fit after Covid....

 

 

I dislike the fearmongering tone reporting about this new one is taking. I've read several articles now which lead with scary "could this be?!" statements, only to reveal in the body of the text that there's no evidence this variant is any more impactful than the existing ones.

 

Right now I am avoiding news about it bc it freaks me out to see the headlines. I work in health so I will know in good time if its something to worry about.

 

Isn't Long Covid the issue now though? We have a record number of people out of work with sickness/disability and the number continues to climb with every update. Covid is absolutely wearing people down - just off the top of my head I know it's causing hypoxia, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, dysbiosis, endothelial damage, hyperactivated platelets, fibrinaloid microclots, vagus nerve dysfunction, impaired antibody creation, viral reactivations, impaired oxygen extraction and multiorgan damage according to many studies - and the fact we're pushing everyone back to the office to work in the middle of a pandemic/climate crisis is f***ing disgusting. We've removed all mask mandates even in HOSPITALS and DOCTOR SURGERIES where vulnerable and immunocompromised patients attend, and the government nor Public Health are doing anything to silence the anti vax morons who are blaming the rise in sickness and sudden death on 'the jab'. :rolleyes:

 

I've posted before about my own connections to people who have been severely disabled by Covid. Previously young, fit and healthy men in their 20's who are now totally bedbound and laying in the dark alone 24/7 because they can't tolerate light or sound, can't speak and need spoon fed. 50% of Long Covid diagnoses are MECFS which is the worst disease in terms of quality of life and there are zero treatments.

 

We SHOULD be afraid of every Covid variant because every variant is causing death and severe illness. People are developing Long Covid on their 3rd or 4th infections so don't assume because you avoided it so far that next time you'll be lucky too. That's also not taking into account the higher risks of heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, cancer etc that each infection is giving you.

 

God, the actual state of things and the lax, careless attitudes that people have regarding a literal Level 3 biohazard that's destroyed millions of lives is astonishing.

You quite possibly have a very different experience to others though? Or at least one of us does.

 

I don't know anyone who has anywhere near the type of symptoms you describe - or indeed I don't think I know anyone who knows anyone else who has suffered any long term symptoms. I do know of some people who sadly died in the original period but after then I've not heard of anyone that has been affected like you describe.

 

Is there something about your circumstances (ie your job or something) that mean you know so many?

I'm in the middle, a couple of my friends do have long term symptoms (although not debilitating). One is in his 60s and was relatively fit, the other with prior conditions.

 

But in all honesty, covid isn't really a thing in my community now, hardly anyone talks about it. Plus the appetite for any further lockdowns, for better or worse, is simply not there. There would have to be a pandemic far more deadly than Covid for it to be considered.

You quite possibly have a very different experience to others though? Or at least one of us does.

 

I don't know anyone who has anywhere near the type of symptoms you describe - or indeed I don't think I know anyone who knows anyone else who has suffered any long term symptoms. I do know of some people who sadly died in the original period but after then I've not heard of anyone that has been affected like you describe.

 

Is there something about your circumstances (ie your job or something) that mean you know so many?

 

Do you need to know someone personally to care about it though? There's 2 million in the UK alone according to the ONS surveys (which were stopped randomly a few months ago) suffering and that ties in with the figures out of work due to sickness (2.5 million, a new record and climbing). With waning vaccine protection, zero masks or restrictions and everyone being thrown back to the office in time for a winter surge and a new variant it seems obvious that more people will develop Long Covid. Could be you, could be your family, your neighbour, anyone.

 

I'm not trying to scare monger but this really is one of those situations where everyone thinks it'll never happen to them and all it takes is one infection and your life is destroyed.

 

https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/long-term...%9D%20he%20said.

 

https://theconversation.com/thousands-of-pe...ng-covid-200297

You quite possibly have a very different experience to others though? Or at least one of us does.

 

I don't know anyone who has anywhere near the type of symptoms you describe - or indeed I don't think I know anyone who knows anyone else who has suffered any long term symptoms. I do know of some people who sadly died in the original period but after then I've not heard of anyone that has been affected like you describe.

 

Is there something about your circumstances (ie your job or something) that mean you know so many?

 

Do you need to know someone personally to care about it though? There's 2 million in the UK alone according to the ONS surveys (which were stopped randomly a few months ago) suffering and that ties in with the figures out of work due to sickness (2.5 million, a new record and climbing). With waning vaccine protection, zero masks or restrictions and everyone being thrown back to the office in time for a winter surge and a new variant it seems obvious that more people will develop Long Covid. Could be you, could be your family, your neighbour, anyone.

 

I'm not trying to scare monger but this really is one of those situations where everyone thinks it'll never happen to them and all it takes is one infection and your life is destroyed.

 

https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/long-term...%9D%20he%20said.

 

https://theconversation.com/thousands-of-pe...ng-covid-200297

So at my work staff training yesterday they said that COVID illness was now going to be treated as part of your sickness and not separate (triggers etc). Then followed up with if you test positive for COVID then you are required to take 5 days off however you are not required to take the test anymore to find out... how the tone has changed is quite shocking really.

Do you need to know someone personally to care about it though? There's 2 million in the UK alone according to the ONS surveys (which were stopped randomly a few months ago) suffering and that ties in with the figures out of work due to sickness (2.5 million, a new record and climbing). With waning vaccine protection, zero masks or restrictions and everyone being thrown back to the office in time for a winter surge and a new variant it seems obvious that more people will develop Long Covid. Could be you, could be your family, your neighbour, anyone.

 

I'm not trying to scare monger but this really is one of those situations where everyone thinks it'll never happen to them and all it takes is one infection and your life is destroyed.

 

https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/long-term...%9D%20he%20said.

 

https://theconversation.com/thousands-of-pe...ng-covid-200297

 

It's not really about caring about something or not - it's about being realistic about the likelihood of developing the sort of extreme conditions you're describing. Plus I was just genuinely curious as to how you know so many as it struck me as being so different an experience to anyone else I know of.

 

The majority of those 2 million don't have anywhere near the severity of symptoms you're describing - and one of the articles you're linking to suggests that's the total number of people who are off work on long term sick for any reason so it's difficult to correlate that solely with COVID. The number before COVID was slightly short of 2million so we're looking at a 500,000ish swing since COVID struck and that's assuming that we haven't seen increases anywhere else.

 

There are balances across the board. I don't think I'd want to see another lockdown. I know many people, admittedly older, who haven't managed to recapture the standard of life they had before the lockdown - their bodies just haven't/can't recover and they're not capable of routinely exercising any longer and that includes simple walks - not saying every day is like this but they can't manage days in a row. They didn't catch COVID but their standard of life has been decreased to the extent that they almost may as well have done.

 

 

Despite the above comments, I'm far from a COVID sceptic or anything - I too do think it's a little odd how we've gone from one extreme set of measures to pretty much just nothing with no real information or advice any longer.

A lot of the media is and always was scaremongering so understandable why people are way more sceptical now.

 

Also I don't agree that throwing everyone back in the office is a good idea (I don't think any form of office working should be mandated) but on the flip side if you keep everyone apart forever then everyone's immune systems will be completely f***ed and all respiratory illnesses not just covid would be much more rife.

Agree with Dandy, the all or nothing nature of the approaches has been totally bizarre.

 

You wouldn't either have a freezing cold bath or a boiling hot one.

Hope you don’t, Jade.

 

I THINK, I might have had covid for the first time a couple of weeks ago but I didn’t test as I was off work anyway so I don’t know for sure. It was very much a heavy cold for the most part except one night where my body was aching so much I could barely move.

Thanks T Boy, I seem to have dodged it thankfully! Sorry to hear that you (and others who also posted since) haven't been well.

A lot of the media is and always was scaremongering so understandable why people are way more sceptical now.

 

Also I don't agree that throwing everyone back in the office is a good idea (I don't think any form of office working should be mandated) but on the flip side if you keep everyone apart forever then everyone's immune systems will be completely f***ed and all respiratory illnesses not just covid would be much more rife.

 

Covid damages your immune system. It literally depletes your body of T-Cells. It's more harmful to get Covid over and over than it is to wear masks in hospitals and work remotely.

 

 

I tested positive for Covid last Monday. At first I thought it was just a sore throat and a cold. It started on the Sunday night and by Monday night I was tired, headaches, flushes, sore throat and a stuffy nose. By the Friday I was feeling better overall and now there's just a lingering sniffle, which is not uncommon for me.

There's a fair chance it was the new strain and I know exactly who I got it from as she text me to warn me she just tested positive. Both she and I and another male friend who caught it are all around 50 years old and we're all fine (he has a heart condition too). I can't say that it was notably worse than a bad virus and I haven't had any jabs for it since last year so they will have waned.

 

I'm not saying it's the same for everyone but this was no big difference to when I've had it before.

Is it hip and cool to catch it in late 2023? I've just tested positive for the second time and I feel DREADFUL

Oh no. Sorry to hear that and get well soon. Covid numbers are certainly rising so expect you'll be anything but alone.

Having my next jab on Monday. Wife's same age and hasn't been called up so must be because I'm diabetic.

Waiting to see what the booster roll out here will be but I’m fully expecting to treat this like the flu jab and just get it annually. Anything I can do to avoid this again I’m doing

 

Is it hip and cool to catch it in late 2023? I've just tested positive for the second time and I feel DREADFUL

Now is absolutely the cool time to catch it. Not at all biased having just caught it for the first time myself this week