I think it'll have a bit of an impact. Just logic really. We were notably badly hit compared to some places and that must count for something. I personally do believe more people have been exposed to it than we realise. I've read and watched an awful lot of contrarian opinions on both sides and the one thing they all seem to agree on, on both the more optimistic or negative side, is that there is simply loads we don't know yet about immunity. No one really has a clue. There are an awful lot of exceptionally intelligent people though, literal professors at Oxford for example, who believe more have had it than antibody tests would suggest. These people are no less intelligent than the ones who share a more cautious view. Even those who are cautious wouldn't categorically say they're wrong either.
There are far too many stories about someone being extremely ill in one household, but for whatever reason their partner or family picks up absolutely nothing. They either don't get it or they do or they're asymptomatic. It simply doesn't add up. It's certainly not because they're locking their spouse in another room and staying away. It's a loved one's instinct to look after a sick partner or child. We know they looked after them. I would have. Or what of those elderly who have been absolutely surrounded by it in care homes, with comorbidities too, but still haven't gotten it? There has to be a part of the picture we're missing. Why are some people who are in such high contact with sick people experiencing no symptoms at all? I'm pretty convinced there is an element of immunity based on something we don't fully know yet. Could be it that the virus isn't quite as novel as they say it is? It does share something in common with many others for example? Could it be as simple as other vaccines for other viruses offer partial immunity? Could be it as simple as blood types? Or Vitamin D deficiency?
Whatever it is, I'm personally convinced that the idea that this is a truly novel virus and everyone will react to it in an identical way is just not correct. It clearly affects other differently, and we don't know why yet, or how many that is. I'm increasingly of the belief that many people have had it but we just don't know yet. I reckon doctors are significantly better at treating it now than compared to back in March. Your chances of surviving an infection now are vastly higher. They understand the virus so much better. They're not shocked by the blood clots now, they're not treating it just like a respiratory infection, they've got better therapeutics. PPE will finally be better for doctors, patients are getting into hospital earlier because we've dealt with that initial shock to the system.
Now, I'm not for one second saying abandon caution, cos I'm still incredibly unsure about going near my family etc. This is clearly a horrible, nasty virus - I think caution is always the best route to take, but I also feel there are far too many stories that simply don't add up, which imply a much bigger picture. I also think the prognosis is better now if you catch this. It's awful what we had to go through as a society to get to this point, but we're here anyway. I'm just glad we are now. Once again, I'm not downplaying this at all, just trying to see things from every possible angle. It's very tempting to hone in on the scarier stories, and I did an awful lot of that a couple of months ago, but i've tried recently to keep a much more open mind and I read all viewpoints, as long as they're from an intelligent, credible source. I'm not saying you don't do that of course, but just trying to explain my view and why I think there is a bit of hope.
It can be really consuming this, but life will go on. It's scary, and there may be some shite times ahead, but we will beat this. We've got good doctors, improving every single day, there is an unlimited amount of money being thrown at geniuses to solve this, and the measures, though slowly, are working. Importantly, infections and deaths are still going down. That's the key. There are signs for encouragement, and enough very plausible questions that suggest things might be a bit better than we hoped. Possibly not, but there's no harm in grabbing onto some positive signs, while also remaining cautious.
