End lockdown. Shield the vulnerable and open society back up.

Lockdown needs to end. We should get back to normal as much as possible whilst asking the vulnerable to shield (if they want to).

Why the contribution is important

I am a GP. I have seen the effect that lockdown has had on my patients, friends and family.

Since lockdown began there have been over 3200 excess deaths in the community from non-covid related illness. This is 50% above the five year average. These deaths will be heart attacks, surgical emergencies, strokes, blood clots, and suicides. Preventable deaths. I think it's reasonable to assume that these deaths may be due to the profound change that occurred abruptly with regard to patient-NHS interaction. I have seen patients who were too frightened to be admitted to hospital for fear of contracting coronavirus who became critically ill as a result. I think it likely that many people will have chosen to not interact with the health service out of fear or out of civic duty so as to no burden the NHS in its time of need. In reality, the hospitals were far emptier than normal.

The information we have learned about COVID19 as time has gone on paints an entirely different picture to what we were led to believe initially. It is not the plague. Increasingly, it is looking extremely similar to influenza with regard to lethality and transmission. It should be noted that the AVERAGE age of death from COVID19 in the UK is 81 for men and 84 for woman.

More numbers that need to be considered. In hospital deaths from the "usual" conditions are markedly below the 5 year average. These have been replaced by COVID19 deaths. This heavily implies that many of those who died in hospital died WITH COVID19 rather than OF COVID19. Or, these people did indeed die due to COVID19 but were likely to succumb at a similar time from other medical conditions.

The PCR testing that is being used to guide lockdown decisions is not fit for purpose, as has been pointed out by many experts. The false positive rate is significant and it does not tell if the infection is current or months old. The high number of "cases" (largely asymptomatic) versus the low number of hospital admissions and deaths is very telling.

A principle followed in medicine is Prima non nocere. First do no harm. I feel great harm is being done by these continued lockdown measures.

by doc40hz on October 06, 2020 at 12:24PM

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Average rating: 4.4
Based on: 36 votes

Comments

  • Posted by ScottMillar October 06, 2020 at 13:36

    This sums up the situation perfectly and I’d fully support

  • Posted by Charlotta October 06, 2020 at 13:58

    Great to see this comment from a GP - thank you for speaking out.

  • Posted by Lornab13 October 06, 2020 at 14:45

    Nice to see a GP backing the false positive data and speaking out about all the other deaths

  • Posted by kjarva October 06, 2020 at 14:57

    Always great to see a health professional give us a true picture of what's going on.

  • Posted by susanperk October 06, 2020 at 15:30

    Spot on. Well said from a very well informed health professional.

  • Posted by natlb October 06, 2020 at 15:31

    I agree with everything said here. These restrictions are now unnecessary and ultimately more damaging in the long run. If people are vulnerable, allow them to shield but this should be their choice as it's their life.

  • Posted by frasmcm October 06, 2020 at 16:23

    It's not feasible to "shield the vulnerable" to any meaningful extent while allowing the disease to run riot among less vulnerable populations. What do those who live with vulnerable people do? What do people with risk factors who are outside the shielding group do? How will society react when the chances of catching the virus are very high and when their friends and family are landing in hospital? How will the NHS function even if vulnerable groups are protected, since the sheer number of people being infected means hospitalisations overwhelm the service again? It's an absolute fantasy.

  • Posted by scoatiousdee October 06, 2020 at 16:50

    Bravo doc40Hz, speak the truth without fear !!

  • Posted by doc40hz October 06, 2020 at 16:51

    By "shielding the vulnerable" I mean keeping away if you have any from of communicable respiratory illness (or any communicable illness for that matter) and advising those people to avoid heavily populated areas if possible. This virus is extremely similar to influenza, which kills many hundreds of thousands each and every year. We have never acted in this way to Influenza. The NHS was never overwhelmed over the past 6 months, save for a few hospitals.

  • Posted by alanmacrae41 October 06, 2020 at 20:03

    Thank you Dr!
    And, in response to one of the comments above, you shield the vulnerable as you do when any other virus is ‘doing the rounds’.

  • Posted by Pinny October 07, 2020 at 17:59

    Thank you. Someone sensible at long last.
    Lockdown those people who are most at risk and allow those who aren’t allow to live.

  • Posted by pmcgeevor October 08, 2020 at 09:48

    Yes! Agree, the continued restrictions are having detrimental affects on the whole population and our ability to drive our economy forward. I am yet to fully understand who the 'vulnerable' are as it has never been published...? Meanwhile, your point above is spot on about preventable deaths, it is an absolute scandal that this is allowed to continue.

  • Posted by Scottydogx October 11, 2020 at 13:32

    Totally support this. The majority of people who become infected are fine. We need to protect the vulnerable who could be seriously ill and not create another major problem for the NHS.

  • Posted by Parsfan October 11, 2020 at 13:35

    so you want us to go back to dark ages when people with disabilities, illnesses and elderly were locked away and forgotten about. They have a life as well and not all have people who can help. In fact most wish to remain independent and be allowed to do their own shopping, collect their own meds and be allowed to go for walks and exercise

  • Posted by CaroMac October 11, 2020 at 17:56

    Yes, the lockdown has had a detrimental affect on a very wide range of people and we shouldn't go back to a 'full' lockdown but we do need to put sensible measures in place to reduce the spread - keep social distancing at 2m, remove 1m zones, mandatory face coverings etc......
    Who are the vulnerable? A lot of those in the shielding group are people of ALL ages. Not only would the person at risk have to shield but the whole family does as well ......
    A lot has also been learnt over the last 6 months - being over weight/obese is now seen as a risk factor and a large percentage of the population will fall into this category, being diabetic is a risk factor.....

  • Posted by mmjcase October 11, 2020 at 19:36

    I get that there are harms other than covid harms - I think the government are very aware of trying to balance these. I just don’t think it’s practical - or ethical - to try and shield the vulnerable. I’m on the shielding list. I’m also a mum to two primary age children. Am I to be separated from them for months on end? Or are they to miss out on school and seeing their friends when most kids will be living their lives as normal under this proposal? And what about kids who are on the shielding list? Surely we don’t have to segregate society in such an extreme way. It’s more fair to ask everyone to make some sacrifices - for example to give up foreign holidays to stop the cycle of reintroducing the virus from other countries. Then we could function more normally, as in New Zealand.

  • Posted by Betterliving October 11, 2020 at 21:01

    Thanks for posting this, I totally agree. Lockdown isn’t working. It feels like people are failing to see the balance of covid against every other illness out there. The effects of mental health alone is shocking.

  • Posted by Norrie October 11, 2020 at 21:02

    I agree with the Doc and it is refreshing to see someone speaking out. Covid should be devolved to Local Authorities and Health Boards to give them more powers and flexibility. I was on the shielding group first time round and would go on it again, we need to let the young get back on with there lives. Families need to see what they can do to shield their elderly. Elderly with no families should be able to speak to the local authority to see how they can help. Other people, out with the elderly, with health issues need additional help. Doctors in other countries around the world, in an effort to help, are suggesting medical protocols that they are giving and claiming high success rates. They say isolating needs to be accompanied immediately with medication and monitoring. Our governments should have trialled some of these protocols by now and who they might be applicable too. They should also be running a campaign on supplements and healthy food to boost our own immunity.
       
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