ZOE Covid Study

[david63]

Is anybody else still doing this?

I am thinking of stopping doing every day as I do not believe that it is now of any benefit.

If I look at the data on the app it is saying that there are c2500 cases in our area - if I look on the website it is saying that there are not enough contributors in our area! Why are they saying two different things?

Even the Government have ceased funding it.

[Stephen]

As an aside.

If I’m honest David I’ve now stopped wearing a face mask in supermarkets. We were in Morrisons last week and I counted one other person wearing a face covering. I know it’s still personal choice, but It did make us feel a bit over dressed.

But it’s strange how supermarkets differ. We were in Sainsbugs this week and we didn’t wear a mask, yet upon entering the store it was the other way round with a large majority of shoppers wearing a face covering. Probably down to a better class if clientele, before someone else says it

[david63]

I’ve now stopped wearing a face mask in supermarkets

I have gone one step further and hardly ever wear a face mask covering unless I am requested to do so (hospital, doctors, etc) or I am in a situation where feel more comfortable wearing one - other than that it stays in my pocket.

[Stephen]

Exactly. .

[Kendhni]

I still always carry one with me but haven't worn it for several weeks now.

[Manoverboard]

We rarely need to go into a supermarket but if one of us does then it's always with a mask on ... as per just about everybody else in store. Must be due to number of golden oldies here-a-bouts.

[oldbluefox]

We always wear a mask if we are going into a building whether it be shop, supermarket, bank etc part to give any protection it offers to ourselves and part in respect to those who work there.

[Mervyn and Trish]

We're still mask wearing and I'm still.doing the Zoe app. While the number of contributors locally is now too low for a meaningful local infection figure I think their national stats are still relevant.

[Gill W]

I read that quite a few people have stopped doing Zoe now, so the figures are less reliable, but at least it gives some indication of what is happening.

Both myself and my husband have decided that we will continue to wear our masks, The latest ONS figure released today says that 1 in 35 people have the virus in England. That's down on the figures from a couple of months ago, but is still very high. It just makes sense to me to do everything I can to avoid catching it - there are no guarantees of course, but I will try as hard as I can not to be infected.

Mask wearers are a small minority now. Unfortunately, this means that I have had to stop doing things that I used to enjoy like going to the theatre. Not feeling the desire to restart cruising either, as the requirement for wearing a mask has been reduced. I was due to go on a cruise in a few weeks time, but Cunard cancelled it, so I'm actually quite pleased about it now.

None of this is 'cowering' or 'living in fear'. It's acknowledging that SARS-CoV-2 can still be very unpleasant, and isn't 'just a cold'

[towny44]

It can be Gill but for the vast majority of those who are fully vaccinated it is fairly mild and no worse than a bad cold, and very few people wear masks to avoid catching a cold.

[barney]

It will get you eventually Gill.
We’d managed to avoid it for two years but both got it late April.
It wasn’t great but equally not the worst thing I’ve ever had.
I’m pretty sure I’ve had a similar virus in the past, it just didn’t have a name.
We’re pretty glad we’ve both had it now so won’t have to worry about our upcoming holiday as much.
We both continue with caution and mask wearing in confined spaces.
Many Grockles down here now and little adherence to common sense.

[Gill W]

It will get you eventually Gill.
We’d managed to avoid it for two years but both got it late April.
It wasn’t great but equally not the worst thing I’ve ever had.
I’m pretty sure I’ve had a similar virus in the past, it just didn’t have a name.
We’re pretty glad we’ve both had it now so won’t have to worry about our upcoming holiday as much.
We both continue with caution and mask wearing in confined spaces.
Many Grockles down here now and little adherence to common sense.

No doubt it will get me, but I’d like to delay infection as long as possible. As people can get Covid more than once, (some people are already on their third infection) it still makes sense to me to avoid infection, as we don’t yet know what the long term effects of multiple infections will be. I’d rather get as few infections as possible!

Glad you are both feeling better.

It can be Gill but for the vast majority of those who are fully vaccinated it is fairly mild and no worse than a bad cold, and very few people wear masks to avoid catching a cold.

Unfortunately, it’s not a cold. Some people get it mildly, others are very ill, and there’s things like long Covid, and damage to organs.

I see there’s reports of ‘mysterious outbreaks of hepatitis’ in young children, not restricted to one location, but globally. This has obviously got to be investigated, but what if it’s found to be a result of having Covid? At the moment, the authorities seem to be blaming anything but Covid, probably because most governments are happy to let their population believe that’s it’s mild….. but it’s a situation that needs to be watched.

[Mervyn and Trish]

There are certainly a number of studies suggesting hepatitis is a possible complication of Covid. Whether it proves to be significant in the long term or not I'd certainly prefer to avoid it.

It does seem the majority of people now report Covid as being no worse than a cold, but that doesn't mean it is a cold. It's still a distinct illness. And although not so many people are dying, possibly due to vaccinations, better treatments or milder variants, some are still dying. After my health adventures of the last couple.of years if there's anything simple I can do to help me avoid it I will, and that includes wearing a mask in crowded places whether it's mandatory or not.

The only frustration is that I remember studies in the early days showed that while wearing a mask offered some protection to the wearer from infected people it actually offered more the other way round. Annoying that by wearing one I'm doing more to protect others who can't be bothered than to protect myself.

[Kendhni]

None of this is 'cowering' or 'living in fear'

I know that comment has been made many times on the internet and even on this site, and people should never be judged by the precautions they choose to take.

Late last year we lost one of our colleagues to this dreadful disease ... young, fit and vaccinated. We have just finished a round of interviews and had put out our offers at the end of last week. During the final HR interview they check vaccination records and one of the candidates that was offered a job was not vaccinated ... and refused to be vaccinated ... so the offer got withdrawn (all staff must be vaccinated ... except for medical and religious reasons).

It is expected that we will all get this disease at some time and there is little to predict how each will react to it ... there is however some evidence that genetics play a role, so look to your closest relatives and see how they react if/when they get it (but that is no guarantee). There is also a myth that once you have had it you are safe, that is not the case ... while the reinfection rate was hoped to be 6 months or so, the reality is that it can be less than a month (this is not really understood at this point).

So, if you are concerned then there is nothing wrong with following the old soundbite 'hands, face, space', there is nothing wrong with choosing to wear a mask and there is nothing wrong with doing what you feel is necessary to protect yourself ... of course we also should not forget "Stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives" ... that same message got reused for tory supporters at the local elections.

[david63]

I think that the problem with mask wearing is that there have been too many mixed messages. When Covid started in 2020 the WHO stated that the wearing of masks made no difference, so we didn't. Then the advice was that wearing a mask would would go some way towards protecting others, but would have no affect on your ability to catch Covid - this was at the same time that we were being told that you can only catch Covid if you are within two feet of somebody who is carrying the virus for about 15 minutes. Then we moved on to being told that the wearing of masks will give the wearer a small degree of protection from catching Covid.

Personally I find masks unpleasant and uncomfortable, to wear, anti social and intimidating.

I see there’s reports of ‘mysterious outbreaks of hepatitis’ in young children, not restricted to one location, but globally. This has obviously got to be investigated, but what if it’s found to be a result of having Covid? At the moment, the authorities seem to be blaming anything but Covid, probably because most governments are happy to let their population believe that’s it’s mild….. but it’s a situation that needs to be watched.

I have also read this and from what I have read there is no suggestion that it is directly linked to Covid - but what it does say is that because of the lock downs resulting in almost no social contact for many there is an increased probability that there is also a greater possibility for any of us to catch something because of our reduced immunity.

[Ray B]

I see there’s reports of ‘mysterious outbreaks of hepatitis’ in young children, not restricted to one location, but globally. This has obviously got to be investigated, but what if it’s found to be a result of having Covid? At the moment, the authorities seem to be blaming anything but Covid, probably because most governments are happy to let their population believe that’s it’s mild….. but it’s a situation that needs to be watched.

Jill, a University of Hull report says that of the all the children in the UK that had hepatitis, none had had the Covid vaccine. Children under ten did not start to get the vaccine until this year.
Up to the report being published 17 children had to have a liver transplant and one child died. The figures do not state they are all in the UK.

As for wearing masks, I feel one should be aware of their surroundings and assess the threat level.

[Meg 50]

it's being blamed on pet dogs now