Science, as we all know, has taken the edge off Covid-19. Vaccines, new treatments and so much more have made it much less likely that we will die from this awful disease. Thank goodness we can look forward to a normal winter. Sort of. Because although Covid is no longer the threat it used to be, how about some awkward facts:
- 825 people died of Covid last week.
- 6588 people were admitted to hospital last week.
- One in 30 people currently have Covid.
- Around 200 people are on ventilators.
- Something like 2.3 million people are believed to have long Covid.
Well, it’s nothing like peak Covid, is it? Most of us have had our jabs – I’ve had my fourth – and the odds are that if we catch the bugger we won’t die. But that’s not a guarantee we won’t die. It’s just that odds against death are in our favour. Long Covid, I’m not so sure.
Since I had Covid at the end of January 2022, I’ve had a fair bit of leg pain, especially around my knees. Doctors have examined me, done tests, taken bloods and they can’t find anything wrong. I asked one of if it might be Long Covid. “We don’t know enough about it,” he replied. “Could be.” There’s nothing obviously wrong with me but there could be something not obviously wrong. How many people are in this position? I have literally no idea, but I know people who haven’t been quite right since they had the virus.
People are getting masked up again. In hospitals, health centres and care homes they are now the norm and I see more people in places like supermarkets choosing to wear them. I admit that I don’t wear one unless I have to but I accept that there is a case that says all of us should. As the winter rolls in, numbers having Covid and dying of it will rise still further. I do not expect the government to change mask-wearing rules but I do sense that more people will choose to wear them.
I’d always advise people to have a vaccine booster, not because I fully understand what’s in them and how they work, but that experts actually do. The anti-vax lunatics told us that vaccines are dangerous and they kill people and they were clearly wrong. If vaccines did kill people, the bodies would be piled even higher than they already are. Four jabs on, I’m not dead yet.
My view is that we are either hoping for the best this winter or we are not thinking about Covid at all and who can blame anyone for that? 2020 and 2021 were years to forget and I think there’s a feeling they should stay forgotten. The winter is probably going to be very difficult with the NHS already on its knees thanks to Tory mismanagement and underfunding so it could be a close run thing if it is to avoid being overrun.
It’s not what it was but Covid is still here. We don’t know the long terms effects, either, so it’s probably a good idea to not get it. If numbers stay around the current level, over 40,000 people are going to die of Covid and that’s over 40,000 family tragedies. I guess we all hope that’s not us or someone we know. But we don’t know for sure. Stay safe, everyone.
