Solitaire

Before my second diatribe of the day commences, I wish to confirm that I am fully aware of and deeply grateful for the following:- a) I am not in a hospital bed and/or working in a hospital; b) I am not in a care home and/or working in a care home; c) I have a comfortable house (no mortgage) with a garden and easy access to a semi-rural exercise route; d) My health is not such (so far as I know, as I am cut off from planned medical tests) that I need carers to visit me; e) I have a good pension and don't actually need to work and f) Family members and neighbours are kindly looking after my food shopping. So why a gripe from a 70+ about lockdown? I spent a goodly part of my academic career studying the impact of isolation (more accurately 'individual housing') on laboratory rodents. A combination of events have essentially put me (some might say it's poetic justice) in a comparable situation. I found in my studies (ably assisted by co-workers), that isolation resulted in profound effects on behaviour, hormone levels (like the 'stress hormones' from the above adrenal gland); neurotransmitter chemicals in the brain; immune responses and growth of cancer cells. Pretty obviously, the precise pattern of changes depends on the normal social organisation of the species being studied. Humans are social beasties, so I would suggest that prolonged social deprivation isn't likely to be beneficial to physical and mental health. I appreciate that electronic communications can help relieve the situation but it's not the same as face-to-face dialogue. It worries me is that it seems generally accepted that oldies like myself can be left in lockdown until a vaccine for Covid-19 is developed (assuming, of course, that the mutating virus doesn't necessitate the creation of new vaccines periodically). I and people like me might be low down the list of priorities but there ought to be some attention to the quality of our lives.