Growing Old with COVID - 4 Years On
Have we learnt lessons and where are we now?
I struggled with coming up with a suitable title for this post. I am unsure if anything is catchy, so you have a naff one. I can hear the audible groans from some or just the confused sighs. We are living with it; get over it. But part of me wonders what lessons we learnt and should continue to learn from that period. Sorry, I must go down rabbit warrens to search for research to support or dispel my gut feelings.
I know my life was irreparably changed and damaged by that period, as were thousands of others. Old people were disproportionately affected by Covid and on occassions blamed for causing the lockdowns. But was it all gloom and doom?
I will stop procrastinating and get to the point. This post is not a rant about inquiries, blame, or other emotional baggage. I want to stop and take stock and look back. Where are we now? How have our lives changed in the longer term? What lessons have we learnt - positive and negative? Is there a difference for old people, or is it more about circumstances? For example where you live, who you live with etc. There is an awful lot wrapped up in each of those questions.
I don’t have the answers. I am not sure any one does but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t mull them over or just ask the questions. One thing that has struck me how ever many rabbit 🐇 warrens even otter 🦦 holts I dive down it is not easy to find research into the after effects four years on? That raises a big question for me could we be losing lessons learnt, or is it right bury it in the past? Is it case of we should just ‘forget about it?’. As I always said when I was 3 years old and in trouble.
In many ways, covid seems a lifetime away. Yet for over 2 years, our lives were turned upside down, inside out and dominated by a little virus. For information here timelines here is a link the COVID restrictions UK.
We were all affected in one way or another. It was a global crisis. A lot of experiences and emotions were shared, but their intensity varied. To date globally they have been 7,003,616 deaths from Covid, I am not getting into the debates about causation and data etc. Nor am I considering the impact of long covid, a vast topic. The mortality figure I have used is from one source, but the Worldometer data seems reasonable. The data confirms that whilst people still die from Covid, the daily numbers have plateaued and reduced dramatically from the height of the pandemic to 100s and even double digits rather than 1000s. So first ✔️ we are beating the virus and saving lives. Although the little blighter mutates, scientists keep improving the vaccine and medication available to fight Covid. This is important as there is an increase in numbers infected by the virus with a new variant outlined in the UK Health Security Agency - Should we be worried about the new COVID-19 variant? Another ✔️new question, but nothing about lockdowns or other measures. We are learning to live with Covid.
There is no doubt that the vaccination programme was a success in saving countless lives. First whole UK population study reveals impact of COVID-19 under-vaccination does look at the lives lost due to missed vaccinations, but it also highlights the positives:
Professor Cathie Sudlow, Chief Scientist at Health Data Research UK and Director of the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Data Science Centre, said:
“The infrastructure now exists to make full use of the potential of routinely collected data in the NHS across the four nations of the UK. We believe that we could and should extend these approaches to many other areas of medicine, such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes to search for better understanding, prevention and treatment of disease.”
Surely, this is a positive. 1.4 million lives saved in WHO European area -(World Health Organisation not Dr.) were saved by vaccination and reduced the number of deaths by 57% mainly amongst the over 60s. Another ✔️.
Beyond the Lockdowns: Lessons Learnt from Leicester’s covid story has positive proactive lessons on addressing loneliness and health issues for old people. Including practical workshops ‘Let's get resourceful’ and the use of better use of communal gardens in council accommodation.
There are a lot of reports and papers on the health aspects. I am interested in the social and well-being aspects and what can be learnt from the data collected to support people with health-related loneliness and isolation. The data is very clear about the problems faced by older people during lockdown concerning loneliness, isolation and health impacts. UCL published reports on its Covid Social Study website, but the last was published in 2022. 70,000 people contributed to the study. I would be interested to see how findings may vary now, 4 years after the first lockdown.
The same applies to a report in 2022 produced by the World Economic Forum 10 COVID-19 lessons that will change the post-pandemic future. I was tempted to cut paste it all but here is a lot there so I will leave it to you all to go down that rabbit warren, but worth a read. The 10 lessons were:
COVID-19 Lesson #1: People proved adaptable
COVID-19 Lesson #2: Mental health is as important as physical health
COVID-19 Lesson #3: Consumer desires are unpredictable
COVID-19 Lesson #4: Inequalities are widening
COVID-19 Lesson #5: The “empty planet” scenario is now more likely
COVID-19 Lesson #6: We're getting more insular
COVID-19 Lesson #7: Maintaining public trust is difficult
COVID-19 Lesson #8: Expectations of the state have changed
COVID-19 Lesson #9: Fear and risk are being redefined
COVID-19 Lesson #10: A sustainable future requires leadership
There is a lot of common sense in those lessons, including many massive cans of worms, positives and negatives. I would be interested, again, to know where we are now. Would research establish the same findings?
I am well aware that older people were not the only people affected. Young people and children have had a hard time for many reasons. The Guardian article The devastating impact Covid and austerity had on children in England calls for a wide-ranging national plan for childhood is needed in England. I could not agree more.
Looking back some lessons I learnt from the pandemic.
Yes, I have learned to live with Covid. I have my vaccinations as soon as they are offered as have done for flu, tetanus etc.
My life has changed beyond all recognition not just due to Covid but circumstances. Although, I have often muddled up the two. For example I have not been into London since March 2021. I know that it has nothing to do with the fear of Covid but overcoming the trauma of that day.
Lockdown allowed me to learn new and improve old skills, my painting old, journalling and writing new.
My dogs are as mad as a box of frogs 🐸, but I cannot blame Covid. It is me.
I was lucky I had begun to learn to live alone and be comfortable in my own surroundings
Click and collect at Tescos saves me money
I am not sure we have yet reached the new normal in society generally
I will now stop the lessons according to Linney and let you get on with your day. But I will ask you these two questions.
If you were asked your one memory and one lesson you learned from the pandemic, what would they be?
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Sadly, on a wider societal level I don’t feel that lessons have been learned. A lot of people of all ages have been left behind and I don’t think we’ve even begun to properly acknowledge or address the mental health impact on so many (not least NHS workers). There was a real opportunity for positive change and greater community care that has, I fear, been missed.
One memory is gathering the crew to wipe down the delivered groceries with bleach. Blech.
Lesson learned? I confirmed that my daughter and I are both die hard introverts. We were hardly affected in many ways. The isolation didn't bother us and we were already used to ordering online due to my disabilities. She was in high school and was more successful in her virtual classes than she ever could be with in-person classes (her regular curriculum was an independent study program).
It is heartbreaking to talk to my friends with young children and my teacher friends. The impact of the isolation on the young was huge. Especially for the preschoolers who were naturally in the phase of learning about social norms and how to conduct oneself with others. There are a few years of youngsters not knowing how to conduct themselves in school or how school works. They missed some very essential learning and the ramifications will continue to be felt throughout their lives.
High schoolers also missed out on essential learning that they will either do without or have to make up for at some later date. College is tougher for these kids and many of my friends' kids are opting out to try real work experience instead. I see a small sample of this, but I must assume that what I am seeing is also happening elsewhere. What does that mean for society when these kids are supposed to become the next generation of leaders?
Throughout the height of the danger and the masking and what not I didn't contract Covid, even though my son, who lives with me, had it 3 or 4 times. Then, last month I got it for the first time. No idea how I got it, but boy was it a doozy. Short, but gnarly.