Remaining Effects of Covid

Donald Trump and E Jean Carroll’s defamation trial face-off derailed by Covid scare

Juror fell ill with symptoms and Trump’s lead attorney was also exposed to Covid, leading judge to put off the proceedings

www.theguardian.com

Donald Trump and E Jean Carroll’s courtroom face-off in New York in her defamation trial against the ex-president was derailed on Monday by a Covid-19 scare.

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“I sent him home for the day with instructions to get a Covid test and report back,” the judge told the parties.

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“Yes, your honor,” an unmasked Habba said

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They both took Covid tests and were negative

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yorkie said:

Pandemic puppy owners struggle with bad behaviour say vets

Some owners use methods that distress and confuse their dogs, the Royal Veterinary College warns.

www.bbc.co.uk

Yet another of the many longer term harms induced by lockdowns, which had very dubious and theoretical short term benefits.

I hope that all of the longer term drawbacks of lockdowns are properly analyised and considered, so that we can avoid making such rash decisions in future.

There are so many harms caused by lockdowns, which the pro-lockdown lobbyists never predicted or admitted may happen, and more harms seem to be uncovered all the time.

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Child obesity in pandemic could have lifelong effects, study says

Researchers say children who gained weight in the pandemic could develop diseases later in life.

www.bbc.co.uk

Tens of thousands of children who became overweight or obese during the pandemic could face "lifelong health consequences", researchers say.
Obesity rates rose sharply among 10- and 11-year-olds in England and have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Measures aimed at children under five are now needed to tackle childhood obesity, the researchers warn.
The government said it was taking "strong action" to encourage healthier food choices.
A prolonged absence from school, a lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating habits have been blamed for rising obesity levels in children during periods of Covid restrictions.
Between 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, the proportion of overweight and obese Year 6 primary school children, aged between 10 and 11, went from 35.2% to 40.9%, with people from deprived areas disproportionately affected.
Researchers used BMI data from the government's National Child Measurement Programme, which weighs and measures about one million Year 6 pupils annually in England.
The number of overweight and obese pupils of that age decreased the following year, but it was still higher than before the Covid lockdowns.

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brad465 said:

You can add this one from today as well:

Child obesity in pandemic could have lifelong effects, study says

Researchers say children who gained weight in the pandemic could develop diseases later in life.

www.bbc.co.uk

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brad465 said:

You can add this one from today as well:

Child obesity in pandemic could have lifelong effects, study says

Researchers say children who gained weight in the pandemic could develop diseases later in life.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Peter Sarf said:

That is worrying if the 10-11 age group are still becoming obese even 24 months after lockdowns finished. I would agree it is junk food and the continuing rise in its popularity.

There was a trend towards delivered food before Covid19 including, for example, Pizzas which are rather unhealthy. This trend was obviously accelerated as a result of the Covid restrictions. I suppose one positive to draw is perhaps Covid has made this unhealthy trend more obvious so it can be dealt with.

It does tend to be lower income households that take less care of things including diet. Could be argued that authorities need to make more rules and restrictions for those who do not think of their health. But I would argue that is rather prescriptive and controlling (OK we have heavier taxes on sugar). Granted it is tax payers money they will end up needing spent on them. But health education is key. And economic education. Enlightenment.

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Yew said:

Not everyone gets on with compatative sport, the emphasis should be on helping kids find physical recreation that they enjoy and can continue doing. I don't think I do any sports that I tried at school any more, but instead outdoor activities like Mountain Biking and Kayaking that I tried in the Scouts.

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yorkie said:

Thanks for posting this; I was going to post, but I just saw you beat me to it!

As a professional football coach (part time), I even see kids who do like playing sports who appear to be obese; some kids, even as young as 12, cannot fit into sports bibs which are larger than sizes I easily fit into.

There was a period of over a year when I was not able to carry out my coaching sessions, even though the law did not prevent such sessions taking place, due to harmful "guidance" put in place, which then became rules or policies.

Even when such sessions could resume, there were various restrictions which endured until almost 18 months after the commencement of the first lockdown.

I know of kids who got out of the habit of playing sports and didn't go back to it.

Again, the pro-lockdown brigade didn't consider these potential consequences. When I tried to raise concerns, these concerns were dismissed.

Those who called for restrictions which had a detrimental effect on children and young people can absolutely be forgiven; all I ask is that they apologise and agree to learn from their mistakes.

The mistakes of 2020-21 must never be repeated.

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brad465 said:

You can add this one from today as well:

Child obesity in pandemic could have lifelong effects, study says

Researchers say children who gained weight in the pandemic could develop diseases later in life.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Obesity among year 6 children has increased over time. Please note that data for 2020/21 was gathered using a different method, which may explain the spike in that year.

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Smidster said:

The attack on physical activity during the pandemic could be one of the most shameful things we did and have impacts that will last for generations and be far worse than Covid ever was.

Think a perfect example is to look at the stats for Parkrun (for those who aren't aware they are free 5k runs every week round local parks / open spaces) - It has taken 4 years to get the numbers back to where they were in Jan - March 2020 as so many people got out of the routine of doing any sort of physical activity and indeed were actively told that it would be "dangerous" to do so and that really what they should do is stay at home all day and watch Netflix where they would be safe (and indeed while I think WFH is generally good it does make it very easy for people to do literally nothing all day)

It isn't just Covid to blame - the trend away from activity is long-standing and entrenched but telling your citizens that really it would be much better if they just sat on the couch and ordered a takeaway is going to have consequences.

Wish I had the answers!

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Peter Sarf said:

There was a trend towards delivered food before Covid19 including, for example, Pizzas which are rather unhealthy. This trend was obviously accelerated as a result of the Covid restrictions. I suppose one positive to draw is perhaps Covid has made this unhealthy trend more obvious so it can be dealt with.

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jon81uk said:

Yes I think peoples ability to cook and the lack of focus on skills in parenting and cooking for a family now has more to blame than lockdown. Too many parents seem to do the "but they only like chicken nuggets" rather than trying to feed a healthy balanced diet.

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Peter Sarf said:

Indeed. The majority of kids were probably only ever involved in things like football when in the playground between lessons even in the 60s. That probably describes me. I am fairly active walking where others would drive for instance. Its the ones that are indoors all day that are sliding down the slope. There is also no need to go out anywhere (by any means) if the food is delivered to your door !.

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ChrisC said:

Sadly society has changed since the 1960 and 70’s when I was a child and a teenager. It is no longer safe for young children to walk on their own or with groups of friends to school. If young primary school aged children were seen out on their own without an adult these days people would perhaps question their safety or even suggest neglect. When I was young almost everyone walked to school and very few were even accompanied by an adult. I am thinking about life in small towns and villages so perhaps it was never like that in a city. Children were able to go out all day and play without adult supervision. It was not unusual to go off and play all day in the local woods, fields and even by a small stream. Sometimes we would set off and walk a few miles from home. This seems unbelievable these days.

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It is no longer safe for young children to walk on their own or with groups of friends to school.

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jon81uk said:

You state that

But why is this, what has changed?

I think actually the bigger issue is perception, as you say others would question it if children are seen out in their own, it generally is perfectly safe for them to walk to school, the bigger danger is all the extra cars from people driving because they don't think its safe! Nothing else has really changed since I walk to secondary school 30 years ago. Parents just need to relax and allow their kids to go off and play outside and let them walk to secondary school.

The issue isn't that it is no longer safe, its that people don't think it is safe.

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ChrisC said:

When I first started teaching in the late 1970’s, most of my class of 8 year olds walked to school, and many were unaccompanied. By the time I retired in 2015, the parents were meeting their children from the classroom door and we only allowed them to leave when we were sure that a responsible adult was there to accompany them. Even schools these days are no longer open to the community and are enclosed by large secure metal fences which in some cases are almost prison like. Sorry, I’m really wandering off the subject of the thread now.

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Smidster said:

The attack on physical activity during the pandemic could be one of the most shameful things we did and have impacts that will last for generations and be far worse than Covid ever was.

Think a perfect example is to look at the stats for Parkrun (for those who aren't aware they are free 5k runs every week round local parks / open spaces) - It has taken 4 years to get the numbers back to where they were in Jan - March 2020 as so many people got out of the routine of doing any sort of physical activity and indeed were actively told that it would be "dangerous" to do so and that really what they should do is stay at home all day and watch Netflix where they would be safe (and indeed while I think WFH is generally good it does make it very easy for people to do literally nothing all day)

It isn't just Covid to blame - the trend away from activity is long-standing and entrenched but telling your citizens that really it would be much better if they just sat on the couch and ordered a takeaway is going to have consequences.

Wish I had the answers!

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ainsworth74 said:

Whilst I certainly agree with all the comments regarding the attack on physical activity during the pandemic before we run away with ourselves it is perhaps worth nothing that this was already a significant problem. As the article itself reports 35% of year six children were obese in 2019-20 before the pandemic could have had an impact on the figures. Clearly a 5% jump is a significant deterioration. The figures are also correcting a bit as we're back down to 36.6% which is getting us close to the pre-pandemic level of 35.2%. Though, interestingly, the Commons Library have published a research briefing on some of this data when parts of it first came out in early 2023 and pointed out:

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn03336/

So perhaps the jump wasn't quite as significant as the data may first suggest?

Either way I certainly don't doubt that the pandemic had a significant impact on children's physical health and weight but I think it's important to not lose sight of the fact that this is a significant issue which also significantly pre-dates Covid. As long ago as 2006/7 (using the figures from linked Commons Library briefing above) around 20% of year 6 children were obese which is hardly a ringing endorsement of the health of our children!

One thing that the pandemic should have woken us all up to is that we need to make significant strides in improving the health of our entire population from young to old. Providing support and assistance to helping people to lose weight would be one of the best investments we could make in pandemic preparedness as well as a reducing the costs of NHS services! It's shame that the Government appear to be more interested in fighting each other and trying to implement populist immigration schemes that won't work than doing something which could benefit everyone now and in the future in multiple different ways.

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ChrisC said:

I think it’s the general lack of walking by all ages, especially many children, which is a major factor in the rise in obesity these days. I’m also active with walking. I do go for at least one walk each week of at least 5 miles, but more importantly I try not to use my car for local journeys where I could quite easily walk. In many areas very few children, of all ages, walk to and from school these days. Children being transported everywhere by car is not only unhealthy but also, especially in the vicinity of schools, adds to the traffic levels and pollution.

Sadly society has changed since the 1960 and 70’s when I was a child and a teenager. It is no longer safe for young children to walk on their own or with groups of friends to school. If young primary school aged children were seen out on their own without an adult these days people would perhaps question their safety or even suggest neglect. When I was young almost everyone walked to school and very few were even accompanied by an adult. I am thinking about life in small towns and villages so perhaps it was never like that in a city. Children were able to go out all day and play without adult supervision. It was not unusual to go off and play all day in the local woods, fields and even by a small stream. Sometimes we would set off and walk a few miles from home. This seems unbelievable these days.

Again, thinking of living in a more rural location, the Covid lockdowns did get lots of people out walking. Where I live, around 10 miles from a large city, the numbers out walking each day was sometimes amazing. It actually became quite a problem with the number of cars parked up in the village blocking access etc. Three years on, I think the number of people who regularly go out walking, especially at weekends, is still at a higher level than pre covid.

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jon81uk said:

I don't think that is that new though, my Mum was teaching twenty years ago and there was a lot of focus on making sure children were leaving with the correct adult, mainly to stop divorced dads taking a child they had no right to. The fences and a focus on not allowing strangers into school areas came in following Dunblane and that was 28 years ago.
Also there is a big difference between primary age and secondary age, I started secondary school in the early 90s, I was trusted to walk to and from school on my own, as was almost every other child. But at primary school we were met at the gate by a grandparent.

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ChrisC said:

You are probably correct. I perhaps should have said that it is no longer perceived to be safe for young children to walk to school on their own without an adult. Except for the level of traffic on the road, it’s probably also not any less safe for young children to be out playing in the fields and woods around the village here than it was almost 60 years ago when I was a child. However, it’s just not done these days. If I was out walking through the woods and saw some young children playing there on their own, I would be quite concerned about them. When I first started teaching in the late 1970’s, most of my class of 8 year olds walked to school, and many were unaccompanied. By the time I retired in 2015, the parents were meeting their children from the classroom door and we only allowed them to leave when we were sure that a responsible adult was there to accompany them. Even schools these days are no longer open to the community and are enclosed by large secure metal fences which in some cases are almost prison like. Sorry, I’m really wandering off the subject of the thread now.

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Bikeman78 said:

I walked to school on my own from the age of nine. I'd probably let my daughter do that now. It's only a three minute walk but her younger brother attends the same school so I take both of them.

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gswindale said:

Taking our 4.5 year old to school in the morning, we walk past another household attending the same school getting into their car. I then pass the same parent getting out of their car on my walk home. It takes me 5 minutes to walk back home - I suspect given the age of the child that they pull up somewhere in the vicinity of the school and the child jumps out, but you've still got to then turn around and negotiate all the other cars doing the same thing.

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Bikeman78 said:

I've heard stories of people that end up parking further away from the school than their home. Mind boggling. Not to mention all the stand offs resulting from the congestion. It was particularly bad during Covid, when the school inexplicably closed one of the entrances.

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Bald Rick said:

Changing subject slightly, several of my friends and (close) family have recently come down with something thst has all the symptoms of Covid - feeling rotten and notably losing sense of smell - but all tested negative.

New strain that the tests don’t pick up?

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ChrisC said:

I think it’s the general lack of walking by all ages, especially many children, which is a major factor in the rise in obesity these days. I’m also active with walking. I do go for at least one walk each week of at least 5 miles, but more importantly I try not to use my car for local journeys where I could quite easily walk. In many areas very few children, of all ages, walk to and from school these days. Children being transported everywhere by car is not only unhealthy but also, especially in the vicinity of schools, adds to the traffic levels and pollution.

Sadly society has changed since the 1960 and 70’s when I was a child and a teenager. It is no longer safe for young children to walk on their own or with groups of friends to school. If young primary school aged children were seen out on their own without an adult these days people would perhaps question their safety or even suggest neglect. When I was young almost everyone walked to school and very few were even accompanied by an adult. I am thinking about life in small towns and villages so perhaps it was never like that in a city. Children were able to go out all day and play without adult supervision. It was not unusual to go off and play all day in the local woods, fields and even by a small stream. Sometimes we would set off and walk a few miles from home. This seems unbelievable these days.

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Richard Scott said:

It's annoying that a lot of the subsequent harm caused was called by a number of us very early on.

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Bald Rick said:

Changing subject slightly, several of my friends and (close) family have recently come down with something thst has all the symptoms of Covid - feeling rotten and notably losing sense of smell - but all tested negative.

New strain that the tests don’t pick up?

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Howardh said:

For the last 3 - 4 weeks I've had a succession of blocked nose, runny nose, mild shivers, a few aches and pains lower back coming and going; none of which particularly severe that need doctor's attention; just that it's now been going on so long. Makes me wonder if it is a new, weaker strain or simply my body can't clear usual bugs as fast as I get older, or even my immune system has been affected by all those months of lockdown?

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nw1 said:

Last Saturday I had what I'd describe as a "24 hour cold".

Woke up with a headache, then felt OK for most of the daytime. Around 5pm or so I started having an incredibly dry throat, had to keep drinking water all evening, and felt "washed out" like a minor cold. No loss of appetite though, and could still drink a beer so wasn't unwell as such.

By Sunday midday all had gone though I have a residual blocked nose this week, and had mild diarrhoea end of last week.

Not sure what that was. Perhaps it was Covid, perhaps something else.

One thing I've noticed, and that I am very grateful for, is that I've had barely any colds enough to make me ill since 2020. Had something in March 2020 (perhaps it was Covid, perhaps not - temperature was below threshold and didn't have cough) and actual Covid in November 2021, which was like a moderately bad cold (but not the worst cold I've had in the past 10 years). Since then, just very minor things, perhaps 3 times a year - so mild that I wouldn't have even noted them before Covid, probably.

Before 2020 I had a bad cold about twice a year, normally at the beginning and end of the winter season (Oct/Nov and Feb/March was typical).

Long may it stay that way!

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Peter Sarf said:

I suppose one facet is we are analysing things more than we used perhaps ?.

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najaB said:

Perhaps. But in the last year I have had two sudden, unexpected deaths of young people close to me: a 29 year old cousin in March last year , and the 21 year old son of one of my closest friends in February this year.

Both basically had a "bad cold" and went to bed and didn't wake up.

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Peter Sarf said:

That is concerning.

Could it be we are more susceptible to other things since Covid - either becasue Covid has changed us * or because we have a backlog of other new infections to get through. Could it be another Covid variant ?.

* = I still wonder if the Chinese know something about Covid that made their decision to lock down so strictly make sense. It is easy to write it off as Chinese being over cautious and reacting the way they did because they are an authoritarian state. But back in February 2020 (date iirc) we were laughing at the mess Northern Italy were getting into over Covid before we realised what we were up against. I remember it well as my factory was importing and exporting a lot of lorry loads with Northern Italy.

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