Best Posts in Thread: So much for younger people not being at risk from Covid-19

i just turned 78 and started wearing my helmet while bicycling about one year ago. this after reading that one of the major life changes for the elderly is head injury!! prior to that i spent my entire life avoiding helmets. things change. perception changes as long as you accept the consequences (including the financial ones) ride on and enjoy!! everything you do in life has associated risks

 

I can't imagine where anyone would get the idea there was no risk to them, whatever their age.

 

Yes indeed. This information is something to ingest and use to weigh your risk factors for sure. As to "why take the risk" that's up to each person's determination. Everyone should do what they can to mitigate the risks they take, in their interest and in the interest of their loved ones.

 

A recent study in the Netherlands (according to my neighbour there's been a similar study in the UK with similar results) shows these characteristics:
1. The study was done for a sample of over 2000 patients with an average age of 47 (range 39-54), 86% of whom reported being in good health before getting infected with Covid-19
2. A very large majority of them (95%) had mild symptoms and were not admitted to hospital
3. The most prevalent symptoms during infection were fatigue (95%) and dyspnoea (difficulty with breathing, 90%)
4. At follow up 3 months later the same two symptoms persisted in 87% and 71% of patients respectively.
5. After 6 months these percentages were still at 86% and 59% respectively.

The researchers are careful with their conclusions but suggest there is evidence of a "post covid syndrome" across all ages of patients.
Original research paper (in English) is here:
https://openres.ersjournals.com/content/erjor/early/2020/09/01/23120541.00542-2020.full.pdf

Only caveat might be that their sample of patients is not necessarily representative for all patients in the age group.

 

Doesn't "what isn't there" depend on testing? In addition, "what isn't there" is always a slice in time as what isn't there in one instant might be in the next. Weigh your risk levels and act accordingly.

 

Interesting find in a wide study of international data among OECD countries regarding Covid deaths:
(full article here: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.07.23.20160895v5.full.pdf )


The study concentrates on the Infection Fatality Rate (IFR), as opposed to the Case Fatality Rate (CFR).
CFR relates to the fatality rate among registered cases only (and is much higher); while IFR includes unregistered cases.
Obviously death rates in non OECD countries may reach far higher because of lacking (access to) medical care.

 

I agree also, it's good to be careful, not good to be scared all the time, because that does harm to your well being also. I was going to say just ask one of those who were in the ditches in Belgium/France during WW I but we can't anymore.

 

Agree with your first point quoted here. That is happening because the virus was taken seriously by governments - effective treatments don't arise from the man in the street.

On the second point, trying to avoid opening the control v no control debate (as I have said many times, we really do not know the outcomes (even now)), it is not 'being sick' but 'being sick with what'. The perspective is related to your own situation: age/obese/existing illness (usually observable) and the generally unobservable immunity/immune response (possibly negative) - so each person has to make choices based on their own perceived risk but also to help prevent spread to others (an individual and societal approach).

 

I also would like a 'commiseration' (sort of 'sorry to hear that') one but was told I need to find a suitable icon - no idea how to do that.

I don't like using 'Like' when someone has a bad experience or reports a passing.

 

I can't agree with this sentence strongly enough.