Lots of scientists are decidely unconvinced by the herd immunity theory. Normally that is achieved through vaccination, and we dont have one. Letting as many people as possible get it is a very scarey idea - the fatality numbers, if anything like the 70% of population who would need to get it did become infected, would be inconceivable. Even young people can get a serious illness, not just a mild case. Sadly we also dont know that having it confers immunity. There is a report of one person who got it, recovered and then was re-infected. All a bit too un evidenced for my liking. I think we all have to think very carefully about our own safety, but as we know, we dont have choices about going for treatment etc. Let us just hope that enough people are doing what they are asked to do for self and other protection and that our poor NHS can cope with unprecedented demand. Sadly from the scenes of empty supermarket shelves, people are not acting very altruistically. Lets hope that changes. We havent seen any singing from balconies here yet, as those wonderful italians have been doing - lets hope we do, community solidarity is needed. Maybe we will see a resurgence of the idea that society and community matters, and individualism is anti-social.
Good luck to all of us for the next few months, and to everyone out there across the whole world.
Herd immunity only coming from vaccinations isn't true. Off the top of my head if you think about Chicken pox, we get it, then we're generally immune to it. It's not running rampant anywhere, and so those with compromised systems are safe. If you go back a few hundred years and think of the common cold, the flu, and even chicken pox, and how devastating they were on the North Americans who had never come across the bugs before.
So immunity can come from exposure, and in fact a lot of vaccines are in fact just small doses of the bug they are vaccinating against - sometimes dead, sometimes live - that your immune system learns to fight off and produces antibodies against from the exposure. So next time your body comes across that bug, the antibodies go to work and fight it off before it takes hold of you.
As for the numbers needing to get it to achieve herd immunity, that's where the gamble comes in. Young healthy people are generally not affected, or have very mild symptoms. Healthy working aged people who get it are generally getting flu like symptoms. Even healthy, just retired, people are getting bad flu like symptoms.
The issue comes the older you get, and the more health conditions you have - of the 'right' sort. So compromised immune system, diabetes, MS, lung problems, heart problems, etc.
But as you say, everyone needs to rely on everyone else to get through this. And people are showing themselves to be selfish assholes right now! No-one needs the amount of toilet paper, pasta, and hand sanitiser that some people have been taking! But sadly, I think attitudes are too far gone amongst some to think of others before themselves. There will be a few kind gestures dotted here and there, and we'll all feel good when we hear about them. But overall, people will be me, me, me I think.
Lass
Xx
I have no medical training, everything I post is an opinion or educated guess. It is not medical advice.
I have the lowest amount in my fridge and cupboards for many years. No shopping after bad reaction to my last Chemo on Feb 7 . I need to go out for a steroid injection in my hand this week so not only 2 cancers also Lupus Arthritis , a daunting prospect . Hope to get some food in for now , also for the proposed locked in your own home for FOUR MONTHS. not sure if it covers my life expectations-----.How long can you expect friends to cover for you. Also how do you see a doctor for treatment etc. So many questions need answers first. To add my son is in lock down in France.
One thing I learned a long time ago was that if you are to get any information out of my oncologist you have to be there in person fighting your corner. Even for silly things like making sure he actually reads things properly and that he records when he wants tests and scans. A telephone conversation would be next to useless so I am hoping it doesn't go to that.
At least in the past I had an ace secretary I could ring to check on things but she retired last month and emailed me to let me know there was a job freeze on so no replacement.
There’s an interesting article in the Guardian by an oncologist about the dilemmas surrounding cancer treatment at this time. I don’t know how to do links but if you search for Lucy Gossage Guardian you should find it. She sounds very caring but doesn’t have many answers.
