There will be no miracle at the end of 12 weeks

[AustBron]

I don't understand what the powers that be think will happen to those of us in the extremely vulnerable category when we reach the end of the current 12 week shielding.

Are they going to tell us to lock ourselves away for another 12 weeks or more? Are we just being shielded solely to protect the NHS and eventually when enough of the unshielded population have had Covid-19 will we be allowed out to catch it and die in droves in the freed up intensive care beds?

Or is it envisioned that we will all have to be completely shielded until a vaccine is found?

I may not be thinking very clearly here, I am extremely frightened because I'm in that group, frightened that my cancer will kill me because my checkups have been canceled, frightened about a new and potentially very serious health issue that was discovered just before Covid-19 appeared and my appointments for that have been canceled too.

Really I'm just bloody frightened and would welcome any points of view that would clarify how people who aren't quite as scared as I am, see things progressing

I just want to send my thoughts to all those with health worries including OP - it must be so frightening. I'm in ok health and am frightened too so goodness knows how the more vulnerable people feel. The thought of having cancer treatment delayed or cancelled is just awful.

All we can say is, the more the spread is slowed the better the chance there is of if/when you catch it, there'll be capacity to provide treatment. It really is the least worse option too in the case of starting treatment which destroys your immune system - that really would be so dangerous. Because it spreads so easily. I can see the logic.

I hear you OP. My DH is in the shielding group and as I am high risk we are shielding together so we don't have to stay separate in the house.

Already we are feeling the negative mental and physical effects of lockdown. No daily walk for us, no leaving the confines of our house and (fortunately) garden. We do this for 12 weeks and then what? Another 12? We are told we are receiving help, but apart from a box of food every week there is no other support.

And since there'll be no vaccine or treatment for probably months, all those in the shielding group will most like have gone utterly bonkers by the time that happens.

My suggestion (to DH) was that when lockdown is eased, they should let the shielding group (and only them) out of say, Wednesdays. (I know it wouldn't really work) . You can't imprison people for increasingly lengthy periods of time, especially if you are allowing the rest of the country extra freedoms.

Herd immunity will take a very long time if very few have currently had it. It's the type of thing that is only usually done by vaccination.

I'm not sure I can do this. My exercise is walking round and round the house like a goldfish in a bowl. Seeing no one, going nowhere. I am glad I have my DH, but if I had to do this for two years I would crack. Soon.

Im sorry you're scared and wish there were answers for you and others in a similar position.

I think you're right that there's no miracle cure in 12 weeks, so anything you can find to do and get involved in online / on Zoom etc may be useful and interesting in the longer term - the new normal

Oh my God - next year? Although I'm not really surprised. I can't bear not seeing my kids, it's really getting me down. And just walking round and round the garden is driving us both crazy. We do it, but it's not fun.

My husband is shielding with me, our house is too small for me to be able to stay 2 metres away from him if he goes out, and we only have one bathroom. He is a very active person and I'm so sad for him that because of me he is housebound.

I've been thinking and thinking if there is anyway round the staying locked in and I've only had one thought. I can't see a flaw in it but if you would be so kind as to tell me any you can see, I'd be grateful. We live in a small town, surrounded by countryside, very little local employment apart from a few shops, so streets are deserted until about 6am. If we were to get up and go for a walk at 4am when there is no one around, we could at least have a change of scene (even in the dark) and have a proper walk - can any of you see any difficulty? If we touched nothing, saw no people, how could we be at any risk?

My head is continually buzzing with fear about my cancer, fear about my other so far untreated health problems, fear that I will need a dentist (I have dental phobia and very weak teeth) and not be able to see the one dentist I have learned to trust, fear that I will, quite frankly, go mad after months of feeling this level of terror with no end in sight. I think if I could just go for a walk it would be something to hang on to.

Thank you so much all of you for sharing your thoughts. I am so sad for all of you in the same boat as me, and for those of you who have to watch someone you love need shielding so that you have to try to help them stay safe AND have to fo what you need to with work etc. It's all so hard.

DH has spoken to his consultant about this, as well as a couple of other doctors. Their opinion is that everyone has to make their own risk judgements (while also being socially resppnsible and not putting anyone else, including the emergency services, at risk). The rules are there to cover everyone, so have to be very tight, but not everyone lives under the same conditions. Our risk assessment (supported by DH's consultant) is that as we live in the countryside & can go for a walk without having to come within several metres of everyone else, we should consider doing so. We take hand gel with us in case we touch gates, stiles etc. I guess the biggest risk is falling over, not catching the virus, and again, this risk has to be weighed up. We have been tramping the fields for 20+ years without doing so, so in our opinion the risk is small, and worthwhile, with the benefits to our physical & mental health outweighing any risks.
Peope should be mature enough to make their own risk assessments, while also having consdieration for the effect on other people.

Herd immunity will take a very long time if very few have currently had it.

Yes, but it seems very likely that many of us have currently had it, with mild or no symptoms.

I agree, although some of the data coming out of some other countries suggest not (& some the opposite!)

People should be mature enough to make their own risk assessments, while also having consideration for the effect on other people.

Well, that's it isn't it, summed up there - everyone believes the first part of the sentence, whilst at the same time not too bothered about the second bit...

My hope is that there will be an effective treatment before a vaccine, that may change the risk assessment for some people.

It's an awful situation and made worse by in a way the fact lots of extremely vulnerable are not retirement age.
They live with kids or younger adults.
Plus many more people are slightly more vulnerable 50+ or asthmatic or high bp.

I dont see how their kids can go back to school.

I'm early 40s and in the very vulnerable / shielding group. I have DC too. My view is that the initial 12 weeks will lead to another 12 weeks, and possibly a third 12 weeks.

If the schools reopen in that time, I doubt my DC will be able to return.

I'm in the vulnerable group due to immunosuppressive medication, which you also cannot have live vaccinations. So the one thing that would enable me to return to work, to interact with others, simply is not possible. I sincerely hope that an antibody is available to treat those that contract the virus, rather than the vaccination.

It is strange times, but we must take each day as it comes and hope each day that science finds firm answers.

It wouldn't be a live vaccination, Queenie8

Thank you @Mustbetimeforachange. I assumed as the flu vaccination is live, that this would be too.

I assumed as the flu vaccination is live, that this would be too.

The flu vaccine for adults isn't live, if it was I'd be in deep shit, as I am not allowed to have live vaccines due to my anti-TNF drugs.

The one given to children between 2 and 17 as a nasal spray is live.

There are no easy or quick fix answers here unless they develop a vaccine. Even if, as other posters have said, they free up NHS beds, that doesn’t help people like the OP. It can kill people who are immune compromised. It doesn’t matter if you have access to the best of everything and a personal team of 10 doctors. If your immune system is compromised and you have underlying conditions, the chances are you won’t come out of intensive care. You need to know this OP and keep yourself shielded until everybody else has had it or they develop a vaccine. If that takes a year then that’s what it takes. You have to be prepared for that and start developing strategies. Your kids could come and sit at the end of your garden and you could chat through the window. Have you got things like zoom and Skype downloaded? Even if they ease lockdown you can’t risk catching it

What would really help is easily available tests that are accurate and a drug regime that when taken early hugely increases your likelihood of recovering from the virus. I’m starting to feel VERY pissed off about the lack of testing.

@soannya but then how do people pay their bills? And mortgage and food? I'm single so I'm entitled to nothing with regards benefits/help except 25% off my council tax
My bills are £900pm not including food. Realistically nobody is going to pay me my salary for sitting home for a year and I can't do my job WFH
There's thousands who will be in the same situation

@ClientQ exactly this, I'm immunosuppressed and have had the letter to say I should shield. The reality is, there is no way I can wait for a vaccine and keep my job. The simple strategy is I have to work and that's it. My company is never going to pay me to sit on my arse at home for an unknown amount of time, why would they.

I mean I'm at home at the minute but I'm furloughed so a lot depends on when the general restrictions lift and work reopens. Like I said earlier my realistic plan is to go to work and come home, no socialising, no supermarkets etc. Minimise risk as much as I can. But it's not really a great choice

@AustBron
I don’t see a problem at all with your plan for an early morning walk.
We are shielding my dd who is 6 and a transplant patient. We walk every 2-3 days in the fields next to our house where we see an occasional dog walker from 25m away.
I truly believe you have to balance the risk of Covid with your general health. It’s so important to get out for a walk, to move your body, to get into the sunlight for vitamin D and to look after your mental health. I’m convinced that the fear surrounding this virus and the hell of long term isolation is going to cause as many problems as the virus itself.
I feel for you but I urge you not to let fear take over. I’ve been fearful over my child’s health for years but it gets you nowhere. I’ve learnt to lean away from it towards faith and love. This helps me to take a more rational stance on things. HTH x