"And for what? To keep a load of Octogenarians alive for another few months?"
Jonty, I'm not yet an octogenarian but I find this sort of remark glib and disrespectful. I've no idea which statistics are correct any more than you have, and while some may have had only a few months to live, others will have lost years. Back in the early days when deaths were rising, there were similar remarks on social media along the lines of "they would have died anyway" which many found offensive.
However, I believe we do have to live with this virus to prevent unacceptable excess deaths from other causes and to avoid even more disastrous consequences for the economy, business and jobs. But that probably means protecting the vulnerable or at least encouraging them to take appropriate measures themselves.
We still don't seem to know how effective antibodies are, how long they last or how they can vary from person to person. In the meantime, until there is a vaccine that works and is safe, let's hope the virus loses some of its severity, and with better treatment with drugs in hospitals, means that some of those octogenarians can enjoy life (seeing grandchildren grow up for example) a little longer than a few months.
Sadly, it's a terrible time for many in aviation and likely to get worse this winter. Unfortunately, so far the Chancellor has elected not to introduce any special concessions for this particular vital sector of our economy.