This article by an expert on aging explains why the elderly are more at risk if they catch Covid19. I haven't read such a clear account before.
Of course we all have choices based on our own attitudes to risk and what makes life worth living, but this piece interprets that blanket term "underlying health conditions".
The author writes:
".....vulnerability to COVID-19 is more complicated than just reduced immunity. Young children who also do not have fully functional immune systems, and are prone to illnesses such as influenza, are at very low risk of severe COVID-19. There must be something about ageing itself that spurs vulnerability to the disease.
Ageing not only involves reduced immunity, but also chronic inflammation, which occurs when parts of the immune system become overactive. Chronic inflammation is common in patients with underlying conditions such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes which also increase the risk of severe COVID-19
....For now, the data is clear. Over-70s run a much higher risk for severe COVID-19. As the virus is still spreading through communities, and given that we might experience a second wave or local flare-ups, the over-70s must continue to take the greatest care to minimise their exposure and risk.
Sticking to strict social distancing, limiting the number of contacts and avoiding busy places such as public transport and shops is essential."
I am 76 and have no intention of exposing myself unnecessarily to the dangers of COVID-19, regardless of what our government's latest 'announcement' says.
What has influenced me most is that on the few occasions when I have had to make essential journeys to clinics and hospitals is that I saw very, very few members of the public wearing masks - even in our large area hospital. A major factor in coming out of lockdown is that most people are totally fed up with it and may cast whatever caution they had to the winds.
Yes I agree. I see where young people are coming from. They are less at risk so less cautious. But I feel like hanging a notice round my neck saying "I am Seventy - stay away!".
One of the benefits of living in a nation of hypochondriacs is that they are far more likely to take notice of government advice . Here masks are obligatory on public transport . Shops can insist that people wear them in order to be admitted . We live in a part of France barely touched by the virus but when I phoned to reserve a table for lunch today I was reminded to bring my mask. All moving around in the restaurant ie going to one's table or making a visit to the loo must be done masked. Most people you see out and about are wearing masks. I find this reassuring.
Sounds like you might be in SW France? I am longing to go back there again. And masks being worn. How reassuring. So sensible. My mask protects you - your mask protects me. I am making them for my friends too. You are going to restaurants. Sounds wonderful if sensibly done - and it sounds as if it is. Bon courage mon brave!
Our mairie has provided us with 2 masks each. Unfortunately the one I took to the restaurant was no good . One of the elastics bust when I put it on -bad sewing. I had to tie it on using only 3 corners. Everyone in the restaurant wore masks on arrival and put them back on if going to the loo or on leaving. Lots of conforming ! We live in the Limousin. It's the 3rd time we have eaten out since restaurants reopened. It's so nice to have a break from cooking every day ,to sit down and choose from a menu and not to have to wash up afterwards! The next treat will be going to a hotel .
I expect eventually they will. Our friends who are resident here came back 3 weeks ago. They had gone back to the UK to visit family and got trapped by the lockdown . They got quite a grumpy immigration officer on their return and worried for a few minutes that he was going to refuse them entry because they did not have any utility bills or a copy of their tax return with them. Eventually he grudgingly accepted their cartes vitales as proof of residence.
There is no 'one size fits all' when it comes to catching this virus, this is why I think there should not be 'catch all' solutions.
Kids don't catch covid so why are they not back in school?
We oldies however must live by a different set of rules, for instance, I for one will not be going back to my old regime of visiting the gym twice a week, no matter how clean they may say it is, a gym is a bacteria fest!...same for swimming pools etc, we have to exercise common sense....that's all.
Thanks for posting that. Even being well under 70 ourselves, we still feel too much at risk to be cavalier. Not being able to meet up with our 2-year-old grandson was what had the biggest emotional impact on us. The Swiss government took a far more humane approach than ours have and their approach has been altogether successful, it seems. Ours, I feel, lacks the compassion needed to deal with the pandemic well.
The unnecessary loss of tens of thousands of elderly folk to Covid because of our late lockdown has also presumably meant that the virus is still vastly more prevalent in the UK than elsewhere and than it otherwise would have been, factors that have led to disastrous NHS issues and perhaps even to a greater likelihood of a second wave.
The discharge into care homes from hospitals and the difficulties with testing and PPE for care homes are likely to have had as much if not more effect than the late lockdown. If carehomes had been locked down early on and if there had been testing for all staff and residents it would probably have been a different story. The liklihood of asymptomatic transmission was not taken nearly seriously enough.
Yes. And unfortunately although the NHS was not swamped by Covid, it is not functioning normally for other work. So arguably it has not been "saved". I hope you are settling into a Zoom routine with your grandchildren. So many grandparents are feeling the loss of their contact with the little ones.
I think it wasn't swamped because of the triage system the powers that be used; also, I suspect the media weren't invited into hospitals as happened in Italy and Spain.
That’s where magnesium can help as it is a natural anti inflammatory. I spray each day with magnesium oil, 10 squirts on each thigh, magnesium is absorbed very efficiently through the skin.
I am doing that. And taking vitamin D! But it has to be said that oldies may be statistically more likely to have more severe Covid 19. That doesn't mean we all would. And many wouldn't catch it at all. Just depends on how much you want to minimise risk. I am by nature cautious!
I live in Alabama in the US. Our state had stay at home order in place for about 6 weeks, and non-essential businesses were closed. That all has been lifted with very few restrictions . There is no ruling from our governor on wearing masks, so a majority do not. We are experiencing a spike in cases. At this point, I can’t imagine that I will ever go out to shop without a mask ever again.
That is tough for you. Ate there shopping hours for the more vulnerable? Stores here have a few of those. Good luck in finding a way through all this uncertainty.
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