The shielded are being told to stay home for another twelve weeks after the initial twelve weeks....AIBU to think this is going to increase the gap between disabled and non disabled?

[AlternativePerspective]

I know several on the shielded list who have now received additional letters from the government telling them that they are required to shield for an additional twelve weeks after the first twelve week shielding period expires.So that leaves the vulnerable shielding until September at the earliest,and I can only imagine this will increase as time goes on.

Now,in principle I can see why this is the advice,after all with no vaccine or proven treatment yet the vulnerable are still going to be at the greatest risk, but while when everyone was in lockdown everyone had to be taken into account re work etc,once lockdown starts to ease, employers are rightly going to be expecting people to go back to work,and realistically how is that going to affect someone who is shielded for the foreseeable future? Are employers, who are already looking at lost revenue, going to take that into account?

And people like me who are currently looking for work, does that mean I have to stay unemployed for the foreseeable as well?

I’ve seen a lot of posts on here from people saying that the shielded are selfish if they go out because they know they’re at greater risk so if they choose to go out then they’d be taking up a valuable bed if they get sick.

I can only foresee that this is going to make the divide between the disabled and the non disabled in this country bigger than it already is.

Will employers pay SSP?

Will employers pay SSP?
You can't actually live off that, so it wouldn't solve much, even if they did.

Will employers pay SSP?

Approximately 2 milion workers are not eligible for SSP. Many more cannot manage with their income being reduced to £94 a week.

How about turning this on its head,don't keep the vulnerable 'shielded 'at home , don't fine the people who are out partying and socializing. Instead of fining put the people flouting the rules big time on lockdown , and wearing tags , untill life returns to normal . Being kept in as vulnerable , FEELS like punishment ,so make it a punishment to the folks who can't be sensible

You can be furloughed if you’re shielding.

I don’t understand the premise of your post. Some people are more at risk. Protecting them is necessary. I don’t want the right to go out and get infected thanks

Being kept in as vulnerable , FEELS like punishment ,so make it a punishment to the folks who can't be sensible

Its 2020, not 1984. How long do you propose to tag people for?!

I've got several autoimmune conditions, including ME/CFS

Do you have any that actually put you at increased risk?

Those shielding will be doing so until a vaccine or cure is discovered.

Where is your source for this? That's quite a statement to make without any actual knowledge about it whatsoever. A vaccine or cure may never be found.

I'm shielding til mid June and haven't had another letter so I'm another one who would like to see a screenshot of one of these extension letters. I'm sure if 'loads' of your friends have received one it shouldn't be too difficult to get one of them to send you one OP?

UnmightyBoosh that’s a weird way of putting it. “Don’t want rights.” If you don’t want to go out, then don’t. If other people feel their circumstances mean they don’t want to follow advice (and it is only advice, not law) that should be their right.

And some people who are shielding are furloughed, but not all, and we don’t know how long furloughing will last. People are confidently stating that vulnerable people will have to sit indoors for a year or two - it doesn’t seem likely that furloughing will last that long, where will the money come from?

Methtones I think they put me at increased risk, a simple cold leaves me in bed for 6-8 weeks, I've had pneumonia earlier this year, went from feeling what is ok for me to not being able to breathe within 24 hours, it took 3 lots of antibiotics & steroids to get me back on my feet & still 10 weeks later I'm not totally better. I'm also shielding because I'm staying at my mum's, have been here since Christmas as I'm not well.

Shielding is advised, not mandatory. If you are happy to run the risk of the potential outcome should you get covid-19 then there is nothing to stop you going out and going where you want (as long as you socially distance from others, unless they have said they are happy to ignore that too).

I can understand why someone who has only a short time to live due to terminal illness may chose to not to shield, for example.

If the government had not recognised the risk to people who are vulnerable (whether they are disabled or not), there would have been a hue and cry. They have made the advice available, put some protections and support in place, but it’s up to each person to decide if they are going to take the advice or not.

I have no doubt that there will be alterations made as to who is in the shielding category as time goes on and we learn more about the virus.

UnmightyBoosh do you have personal experience of not being furloughed when shielding?
DH isn’t furloughed, but only because he can work from home. So money still coming in.
Acas advice

as long as you socially distance from others, unless they have said they are happy to ignore that too

Whoops @jacks11.

I don't think you quite 'get' the lockdown rules.

No one should be 'happy' not to social distance. It's not a choice.

The 'rule' is that no one mixes with anyone other than the people in their house / work, because the only reasons to go out of your house are

work if not able to work at home
essential shopping
medical appts
exercise - alone or with a person you already live with

None of this includes meeting other people.
It's not acceptable to meet anyone for a social event, whether you stand 2 mtrs apart or not.

I’m intrigued how many people posting are shielded?

Some employers are not furloughing shielding workers. That's a choice.

Not being able to afford to live off £94 a week and therefore having to risk catching coronavirus at work is not a choice.

My DM has had a letter extending her shielding to the end of June and a friend who's had a transplant has had hers extended 12 weeks. I think the letters are going out in phases the same as the original ones.

It's a long time and it will be hard. It's up to individuals whether they follow the recommendations or not. My DH and I are planning to isolate for 2 weeks at some point over the summer so we can then see DM if there's no other option. I'm not waiting months to see her if we can find a way. But equally I'm not going to put her at risk if we can avoid it.

Worth noting that whilst she is over 60 she is broadly healthy (just has rubbish lungs) and works PT, as does my DDad. My friend is a teacher. Plenty of "apparently healthy" people need to shield - you don't know everything about people's personal circumstances.

Also this isn't some Government conspiracy - they are just trying to keep the most vulnerable people safe.

Neither of us have received a letter telling us we are vulnerable, despite my mum having copd & me having asthma
@Nat6999 Having autoimmune conditions does not automatically mean you are at risk more than anyone else.
People who take some / high doses of certain immunosuppressants are at a higher risk.

There is a very specific list of health conditions on the gov website for shielding. Again, this is not mandatory. It's your choice.

The same applies to the elderly and other health conditions.

Asthma per se is not a reason by itself to shield.
Nor is an existing lung condition.

Both increase the risk of a poor outcome if you catch the virus, but so do other things like being obese, which is 25% of the population.

I'm shielding and working from home. A lot of staff are furloughed currently and everyone except from me will get their "turn" at being furloughed.

I won't because they need me all the time. I'm happy with this, and dont mind not being furloughed.

I'm hoping I'm showing my worth just now.

Sorry I got it wrong earlier; I said only about 1% got shielding letters actually it is 2.2 % ( 1.5 million in 67 million) ie about 1 in 44 people the vast majority of these will be very elderly so most will have long since retired ( not all) so of people working age and in work it is more likely to be less than 1 in 250 that are shielding
it is not everyone with cancer ( only some) not everyone with asthma ( only those with severe or poorly controlled) not everyone with autoimmune diseases etc etc

Apologies to UnmightyBoosh for my previous post, I read it as ‘can’t be furloughed’ .

My husband is perfectly able, fit and outwardly healthy, but due to a severe pneumonia that damaged his lungs considerably is on the shielded list.

The rest of the household are shielding with him too. However when children go back to school we will have to make some serious decisions, because we can no longer live safely as a family.

But so far the worst part of sheilding has been the inability of others to understand and their encouragement not to take as seriously - and even some delivery drivers don't seem to properly get it (maybe because they do not associate my husband with disability or ill health). And I dread how it will be when all others are out of lockdown because it feels already as if we are being forgotten....and certainly never seen a food parcel or any local help or support., no benefit, no income, nothing (we seem to slip through the gaps of any of the new finanical policies)...so when others are out and about again I can't quite imagine how it will feel and how difficult it will be.

I’m intrigued how many people posting are shielded?
You can guarantee the ones who are quite happy to see shielded people chucked under a bus, won't be.

@JustSew

I say this with the caveat that it is based on our experiences so far, backed up by regional and national data (which means conclusions are provisional)- some conditions which we assumed would be high risk do not seem to be as bad as we thought.

Mild, well controlled asthma does not appear to cause significant additional mobility or mortality (and mild asthmatics are not on shielding list). Brittle, poorly controlled asthma (with frequent exacerbation), especially those requiring immunosuppressants or azathioprine, are at higher risk of both morbidity and mortality. Patients with mild COPD do seem to carry a slightly higher risk than mild asthma (much of this is local data though), but those with severe COPD do very badly on the whole. Bronchiectasis is another condition which seems to carry significant additional risk of morbidity and mortality with covid-19. Obviously, the worse the condition, the higher the risk.

Well controlled diabetes does not seem to be linked with poor outcomes but poorly controlled diabetes definitely is. Obesity and smoking are also linked to poor outcomes, independent of other risk factors- though worse when combined with other risk factors.

I’d be interested to know if obese people are on this official shielding list? What about someone with a bmi in the 40s or 50s? Because I can see colleagues who have to pick up their work being pissed off if they perceive they’re getting dumped on because of someone’s lifestyle choices (not inc people with medical conditions). So that might cause some upset.