It varies wildly. Especially amidst young people, many of whom feel that the virus is not a big risk for them due to their age group. One young friend of mine recently expressed that they want to get sick, because they're sick (pun intended) of living in social isolation and constant vigilance.

>> One young friend of mine recently expressed that they want to get sick

I am hearing this more and more. Whether it is for future "immunity passports" or just to get past all the fear, many young people see COVID-19 as inevitable. Better to get it now during lockdown than after everyone heads back to work/school.

One thing that is cropping up is the fact that young people really do not appreciate old people telling them what to do with their bodies. Grandma telling you to disinfect your hands is one thing. Grandma telling you that you aren't allowed in the same room as your boy/girlfriend for the next year is another. Listening to the police talk about the parties they break up, they sound like chaperones at a school dance trying to enforce a no-touching rule.

I can appreciate the sentiment and have said something to that effect myself, but as a parent post rightly pointed out -- the onset of severe, hospitalisation-worthy or fatal illness is basically a coin toss. Yes, it seems to be more likely in older people, but it is far from unheard of in younger people.

Furthermore, there's still a great deal of uncertainty as to what chronic or long-term effects infection can visit even upon those who recover. While most accounts of that concern those who suffered serious complications, it's far from clear that those with mild symptoms can't be affected similarly.

Realistically, going out of one's way to get infected is dangerously irrational with as little as we still know.

Reminds me of "chicken pox parties" in the 80s and 90s. Which we have now learned are a terrible idea.

Except that a statistically huge number of people have gotten this and recovered. 1 in 6 people in London has recovered (as reported by antibody testing). Those people certainly know how it will impact them. We are no longer in the "we don't know" phase. As for long term health, this seems no different than any other pneumonia which can have measurable effects for years.

This is untrue. The Kawasaki-like inflammation in children and increased stroke risk in all patients after recovery are far more serious than pneumonia recovery. We have no clue about long term effects because the disease is new, nor the duration or extent of immunity.