Coronavirus: How scared should we be?

[oldhippydude]

i think quite a few of us have let the fear get a bit out of proportion.
this article is worth a read https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52758024

For example, an average person aged 40 has around a one-in-1,000 risk of not making it to their next birthday and an almost identical risk of not surviving a coronavirus infection.

And that is the average risk - for most individuals the risk is actually lower than that as most of the risk is held by those who are in poor health in each age group.

So coronavirus is, in effect, taking any frailties and amplifying them. It is like packing an extra year's worth of risk into a short period of time.

If your risk of dying was very low in the first place, it still remains very low.

As for children, the risk of dying from other things - cancer and accidents are the biggest cause of fatalities - is greater than their chance of dying if they are infected with coronavirus.

During the pandemic so far three under 15s have died. That compares to around 50 killed in road accidents every year.

 

[rew]

Personally I don't feel really fearful of dying from it or catching it. Am more concerned about passing it on tbh. Will just keep going as I am using common sense.

 

[harumph]

I'm not sure that is out of proportion though that depends on exactly how scared you are. Risk of dying from covid is equal to the risk of dying from literally every other thing put together :| if you told me running was as likely to kill me everything else put together I would never run again. Now I just need to find a dodgy source for that as an excuse to never run again

 

[oldhippydude]

I'm not sure that is out of proportion though that depends on exactly how scared you are. Risk of dying from covid is equal to the risk of dying from literally every other thing put together :| if you told me running was as likely to kill me everything else put together I would never run again. Now I just need to find a dodgy source for that as an excuse to never run again

There are so many ways to die early; from risky outdoor activities to smoking. we decided to take a look at just how much you increase your chances of dying through these activities. Life after all is one big series of risks. And some risks are worth the shot. One study shows people have a 1 in 100,000 chance of dying while attending a dance party. Another study shows the odds of dying while skydiving in the United States is 1 in 101,083 jumps. What follows is a list of activities, from the ordinary to the extraordinary, and your chances of dying from them.

https://www.besthealthdegrees.com/health-risks/

 

[harumph]

There are so many ways to die early; from risky outdoor activities to smoking. we decided to take a look at just how much you increase your chances of dying through these activities. Life after all is one big series of risks. And some risks are worth the shot. One study shows people have a 1 in 100,000 chance of dying while attending a dance party. Another study shows the odds of dying while skydiving in the United States is 1 in 101,083 jumps. What follows is a list of activities, from the ordinary to the extraordinary, and your chances of dying from them.

https://www.besthealthdegrees.com/health-risks/

Okay... and all those ways put together in a year is your likelihood of dying from a single covid infection. There is risk in everything but that shows you should be avoiding covid more than everything else. If you're in a badly hit area such as we are then it's a problem.

"an individual living in New York City has experienced roughly 50 additional micromorts of risk per day because of Covid-19. That means you were roughly twice as likely to die as you would have been if you were serving in the U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan throughout 2010, a particularly deadly year."

Much better off serving in the US military in Afghanistan during a deadly year isn't exactly "chill out and don't worry" area of thinking so let's not downplay it too much. Fear is a useful emotion for survival. Fear only becomes less useful when it's illogical. Fear in this situation is not only useful but logical, if you're not afraid of covid, you're not thinking. The world didn't enter lockdown on a whim.

 

[mick brown]

I'm not "worried" at all. If I get it I'll deal with it or die. That's life isn't it. When I served in the military and during combat I had a 20 to 30 % chance of dying according to figures I once read. My chances are better with covid-19 . Oh shit, I'm a lot older now, I'd better hide.

 

["Misfit"]

i think quite a few of us have let the fear get a bit out of proportion.
this article is worth a read https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52758024

For example, an average person aged 40 has around a one-in-1,000 risk of not making it to their next birthday and an almost identical risk of not surviving a coronavirus infection.

And that is the average risk - for most individuals the risk is actually lower than that as most of the risk is held by those who are in poor health in each age group.

So coronavirus is, in effect, taking any frailties and amplifying them. It is like packing an extra year's worth of risk into a short period of time.

If your risk of dying was very low in the first place, it still remains very low.

As for children, the risk of dying from other things - cancer and accidents are the biggest cause of fatalities - is greater than their chance of dying if they are infected with coronavirus.

During the pandemic so far three under 15s have died. That compares to around 50 killed in road accidents every year.

 

[Chris K]

Personally I don't feel really fearful of dying from it or catching it. Am more concerned about passing it on tbh. Will just keep going as I am using common sense.

Same here mate. If I get it, I get it, chances are I'll be fine in a week or so. Usually fit and well and I'm in my mid-thirties.

However, if my mother picked it up who is in her late 60s and has literally just been cleared of cancer after several operations, game over for her. That scares me.

 

[Crewella]

I'm another one not particularly worried about catching it - I've done a lot of bloody stupid things in my life and survived, including smoking. We're all going to die at some point anyway.

I'm more stressed by my finances since lockdown, but I'm playing by the rules to not spread it.

 

[Mawsley]

And that is the average risk - for most individuals the risk is actually lower than that

That’s not how ‘average’ works.

Half the population carries less risk. Half carries more, if we’re using mean values.

In addition, this is an extra risk factor loaded into the others. Therefore, it should be taken seriously by anybody carrying increased risk.

It took me to the edge and I’m quite fit for a fat bloke. I don’t think it’s beneficial to be blasé about this.