Do shielding people think a magic wand will wave on 30th June?

[yearinyearout]

I know three people close to me who are in the shielded group, they've all had texts to say their shielding period is extended to 30th June.

One says as soon as that date is up she's off out for a big long walk in the countryside (she could actually do that safely now as long as she didn't touch anything, but she's following the text to the letter and not leaving the house)

The other can't wait to meet friends for coffee ASAP after that date, she seems to think the corona fairy is making it disappear on 30th June.

Next one can't wait to go out for a drive as she's sick of the same four walls, and will be off out 1st July!

Well, what fo you exoect them to do? Stay in for a year. No they're obviously not being realistic, but they probably need a bit of self delusion right now. Be kind.

Obviously if transmission rates are down and the r-number is significantly lower the risk of infection will be much smaller by then. So no, the virus won't have gone away, but it is a risk reward balance and they may be comfortable with that level of risk. It's not a black and white issue.

I dont know what will happen as gov im sure planned one huge wave.
Plus surely some shielded will be people who cant get a CV vax for some reason. And then many vax arent 100% so until everyone else has had a jab or cv there is still a risk

And there won’t be a vaccination by July anyway.

No. What they hope is that it will be safer for them to relax their isolation somewhat because the R number is low and there is a smaller risk of community transmission. This of course won’t happen if a significant proportion of the lower risk population behave like selfish arseholes, which based on MN currently seems likely.

Do you not think that we know on some level that it's unlikely we will be able to safely go out anytime soon? Do you realise how soul destroying it would be if I let myself dwell on this too deeply or for too long? Maybe a bit of (albeit probably unrealistic) positive thinking is what is getting them through the day. I find your post insensitive enough in itself but the corona fairy?! Really?

They can’t stay in forever.

By then we will have antibody tests, so a clear picture on immunity.

We will also have better treatment pathways.

I agree with you in principle, which is why I think that people should safely visit the over 70's for Birthdays etc, because they may not get another chance.

But if we stop ourselves from getting infected as long as possible, we have a better chance of survival. The hope is that there's less of the virus circulating. If we have a hot summer it won't last long on outside surfaces.

Do you think if the vax trial goes ok by sept they might offer it to the shielded in a take your chances way ? As im thinking some people might prefer a small vax risk to being trapped inside another year?

I mean for eg some are 70+ with copd and not seeing grandchildren.
Others like with their kids so kid cant go to school.

I know obviously they are front of the Q but some might prefer not to wait up to 18m

For all Coronavirus infections, July and the summer are better months for lower, if at all, infection rates. They may have to shield over winter, but it will be their choice.

Keepdistance, they've said that for most of the shielding group including the over 65's, the vaccines aren't going to be very effective. Similar to the flu vaccine. They will rely on herd immunity.

Im not sure that's true about surfaces.
But a hot summer with people taking and getting vit d may allow lots of people to not get as sick when they do catch it.

You're being a little patronising to shielded people. Unless they have severe learning difficulties then of course they don't think CV will magically disappear.

The risk is expected to be significantly lower by the end of June so the things they are looking forward to would be very low risk; going out for a drive, an isolated walk, a distanced coffee.

As a pp mentioned, it must be soul destroying for vulnerable groups to have no clear end in sight. Holding onto some positive things to look forward to is essential.
Don't piss all over their chips!

Some in the shielded group have had Covid-19 already and survived but needed hospital care.

The idea is to keep more vulnerable in society from needing NHS resources. This has worked but led to the deaths in care homes and of others who weren't considered vulnerable but clearly are.

You sound nice . These people are close to you, evidently have serious health issues, and you choose to bitch about them on the internet..

Clearly there is no magic wand. DP is shielded and I'm due a baby in July.. obviously there will be hospital visits, the birth, and elderly grandparents wanting to visit.. no idea yet how we're going to manage it but we'll have to make a risk assessment nearer the time.

Going for a walk or a drive aren't thinking the virus will have disappeared. They are doing exactly what they were told to do and once they have stayed at home for 12 weeks they hope to be able to do things other people never stopped doing.
Meeting friends for coffee can take many distanced forms. The non shielders might be doing that this month but she has to wait another 5 or 6 weeks.

This is quite unkind. Shielding is very challenging, both practically and mentally.

As others have said, the point of shielding at the moment is to avoid infection at a time when the community risk is high. Hopefully be the end of June there will be effective track and trace measures in place which will reduce the risk of infection in the community.

Also, lots of us who are shielding (or shielding members of our household, including DC) have jobs and lives outside our homes. If the shielding period is lifted then we would like to get back to those, and some people don't have the opportunity to work from home.

Thank you for your thoughts, oh Wise One. I will of course remain indoors for however long it takes for them to find a vaccine. Of course if I do that I won’t have an ‘indoors’ to remain in as I’ll have lost my house, but I do appreciate your concern for my circumstances. 🙄

If you’re not shielding you don’t fucking get to comment, to be honest. You don’t have a clue.

I'm shielding. Of course I don't think it will magically disappear but it's nice to have something to look forward to. It's hard being completely isolated, especially when I can't work and all the things I used to really enjoy doing are outside.

You’re an arsehole, OP

Yes I fervently believe in magic wands. I'm sure it is in a unicorn's arse somewhere in the vicinity of Dominic Cumming's moral compass.

Thanks for your concern op. It's good to know that you have such empathy with shielders who have a lovely choices at the moment.

Of course we don’t! I don’t expect my children to go back to school, I don’t expect life to go back to normal. All I want is to be able to take my children for a walk everyday and in the car, like everyone else is already able to do. Extremely vulnerable does not mean sick, being completely shut in our home for months is just as hard for us as it would be for any young family!

There are 1.5 million shielding people. I’ve only spoken to two of them so no I don’t know what they ALL think.

I understand your point OP to be fair. I’m speaking both as a HCP and the wife of someone who’s shielding. It’s difficult to know what will happen. You can’t criticise people for needing something to look forward to. However I’ve already prepared my husband for the fact he won’t be going very far at the end of June . The latest info we have had says NHS England have confirmed shielding until the end of June but be prepared for further extension.
The way I look at this is it’s giving shielded patients the legal protection they need. It’s advice not law. At least if they have this status they cannot be forced to return to work and at the moment they can be furloughed. Some people seem to see it as some kind of punishment. It’s not. It’s advise they can follow and at least they are being protected in doing so