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Original poster

CEV and "Freedom Day"

58 replies

Sunshineanddaisies2021 · 18/07/2021 19:45

I'm CEV for a number of reasons and work in a school and have my own school age children.

The thought of cases being so high, without mitigation and opening everything up tomorrow is making me wonder if I ought to be self shielding again. There's no advice I can find - everything is just "be careful" and "work from home where you can".... except I can't - I'm in school. Now there is no official shielding I can't just work from home as there's no official backing.

I have had Covid already and it was not a pretty sight and I am lucky to still be here. What the heck are CEV people meant to do? Obviously different for everyone but if anyone is in a similar position, what are you going to do?

Thank you.

OP posts:
Littlemiss74 · 18/07/2021 19:55

@Sunshineanddaisies2021 i was sent the shielding letters before & was lucky that I could work from home. My work are now saying we have to return to the office 2-3 days a week and I have been a few times now. I have felt much more relaxed since having both vacs but now I’m starting to feel a bit uneasy again. I just feel like I can’t stay inside forever and that if I do catch it now surely it should be alot better than before I had been vaccinated?

Should I be more concerned? I keep seeing things mentioned about the CEV group and how they’ve been forgotten about but as we were actually among the first to be jabbed I felt quite reassured by that. I go to the shops etc so feel as if it would be hard to say I don’t feel safe going back to office but then again there have been people going in and saying they don’t feel 100% and sent home which makes me anxious.
Are we still at much greater risk despite having 2 vacs? I don’t know what to think now & I understand your concerns.

nether · 18/07/2021 20:05

Are we still at much greater risk despite having 2 vacs?

Depends what condition led to you being CEV.

If your immune system is normal, then you should be fine.

If not, then it's the reverse of 'freedom' because cases are rocketing and mitigations no longer need to be in place

Shapesorted · 18/07/2021 20:08

What did you do before covid to keep yourself safer?

wasthataburp · 18/07/2021 20:11

What do you do to protect yourself from other viruses?

flapjackfairy · 18/07/2021 20:12

I have 2 children with complex needs who are both vulnerable. They wont even vacinate them so we are in an even worse position. No one cares about them it seems .

Sanguinesuzy · 18/07/2021 20:13

@Shapesorted funnily enough probably not much because there wasn't a novel virus floating around Confusedcwhat a weird question.

nether · 18/07/2021 20:14

Before covid, there was never a disease with such wide transmission. Even the pandemic and novel flus did not hit this level.

How we lived then, or how we deal with other transmission risks, isn't really useful when looking at the risks of pandemic disease which is at high and rising levels in the community.

Right now, we continue to follow the additional precautionary advice

wasthataburp · 18/07/2021 20:18

[quote Sanguinesuzy]@Shapesorted funnily enough probably not much because there wasn't a novel virus floating around Confusedcwhat a weird question.[/quote]
Why is that a weird question? If they are clinically extremely vulnerable then will have a much lower immune system so surely there are other viruses which they also need to also watch out for? Surely they had some measures in place re Covid to protect themselves?

wasthataburp · 18/07/2021 20:19

*pre Covid that should say

Shapesorted · 18/07/2021 20:21

It's not a weird question at all. Presumably the reason OP is CEV is due to a medical position that makes them vulnerable to more than just one solitary virus.

nether · 18/07/2021 20:26

@Shapesorted

It's not a weird question at all. Presumably the reason OP is CEV is due to a medical position that makes them vulnerable to more than just one solitary virus.
Yes it's a weird question.

This is a novel virus with extremely high transmission, and for which treatments are still under development.

The chances of catching it are way higher than the chances of encountering someone with other diseases (yes even respiratory viruses in the winter season) because so many people have it, and the number is rising rapidly.

Missing that out of the picture makes any comparison useless.

Littlemiss74 · 18/07/2021 20:28

I take immunosuppressant meds for arthritis so I guess my immune system is suppressed but my consultant has always said its only suppressed a bit. I’ve spoken to him about covid and he didn’t seem too worried as I am on quite a low dose, and no other high risk factors. Still a bit anxious though as who knows how well the vaccines will work for me? Only one way i’m going to find out!

I’ve never been told before this virus about taking any special precautions to protect myself from other viruses, all they ever said was to get the flu jab. I’m thinking the CEV group must itself vary quite widely as to how vulnerable the people within it are.

peachcherries · 18/07/2021 20:32

You certainly aren't alone. I'm so worried about Freedom day and will be withdrawing from mixing again and doing shopping online etc.

There is a high chance I haven't developed antibodies due to the mix of immunosuppressant I'm on. It's been advised I get an antibody test, but I've decided against it as if it comes back negative I'll be a total mess.

I can't have a booster as the vaccine as my conditions come out of remission.
It's one huge mess and my specialist just can't answer any questions as they simply do not know with it all being so new and untested.

Stay safe everyone.

Shapesorted · 18/07/2021 20:33

Fine you work it out yourselves. I'm not CEV so it was a perfectly normal question to ask, you don't have to get shitty. I was actually interested to see if there was thoughts and measures in place with regard to other previous viruses and could these be adapted etc. But feel free to get all offended and defensive, I'll leave you to it. Jeez some people are always so quick to attack, you want people to understand and be mindful but jump down the throats of anyone else joining in the topic. Good luck to you all.

Micemakingclothes · 18/07/2021 20:35

I’m in a different country where the equivalent
Of freedom day already happened. My husband who is CEV is also confirmed to have no anti-bodies from the vaccine. We are back to isolating. We do have his doctor’s advice to support his ability to continue to wfh, but his company isn’t making it an issue and I already wfh anyway.

FlatteredFool · 18/07/2021 20:36

Some people have no idea what it is like to be CEV and make inane comments OP. I understand how you feel. I'm dreading tomorrow and will be keeping myself away from busy places and will continue to wear a mask. My neighbour has just tested positive. He's cev and double jabbed and doesn't go out except to family.
Do what you need to do to keep yourself as safe as possible Thanks

Egghead68 · 18/07/2021 20:37

as we were actually among the first to be jabbed I felt quite reassured by that

I don’t because any benefit from the vaccine will be waning by now (according to data from Israel).

I’m self-shielding until they tell me I can no longer WFH

Micemakingclothes · 18/07/2021 20:38

Pre Covid we washed hands frequently and our friends and family always let us know if
They had so much as a cold so we could avoid seeing them. Also got flu shots and avoided crowds during local outbreaks of various viruses.

GiveMeNovocain · 18/07/2021 20:38

It's not a stupid question to ask @Shapesorted. When my family members' immune system had to be destroyed as a result of childhood leukaemia they lived in a sterile room and could only eat highly processed tinned foods to minimise their risk. They still nearly died from a tooth infection. When they recovered they wanted to seize every opportunity and they did!

nether · 18/07/2021 20:39

I'm not CEV so it was a perfectly normal question to ask, you don't have to get shitty

I'm sorry. You're clearly new to this and I made assumptions that are wrong. and yes I'm tetchy.

Because I'm sick of the number of times that question has been asked and answered, and how it is used by some people to make us look illogical and over anxious.

I feel that we're not meant to speak up about how shit is really is to be CEV in an ongoing pandemic.

People don't want to think about what they are asking of those for whom going out is no longer safe because there will be no mitigations.

That their 'freedom' comes with our price tag.

And that we can't just be brushed aside as 'oh well it's just like any other disease'. But it really isn't.

Egghead68 · 18/07/2021 20:44

Are we still at much greater risk despite having 2 vacs?

Yes because any reduction in risk is relative. So we might have say 5-15% of our originally high risk of hospitalisation but working age healthy people have say 5-15% of their originally minuscule risk of hospitalisation.

Of course, if you are immunosuppressed the risk is higher still - maybe 23% of the originally high risk.

And there’s also the fact that we had our vaccines early so in some cases immunity may be waning by now.

Egghead68 · 18/07/2021 20:46

As someone said on another thread, non-CEV people coming onto a CEV thread with their “helpful” questions and advice is like people without children giving advice on a parenting thread.

Shapesorted · 18/07/2021 20:49

@Egghead68

As someone said on another thread, non-CEV people coming onto a CEV thread with their “helpful” questions and advice is like people without children giving advice on a parenting thread.
Message received.
Original poster
Sunshineanddaisies2021 · 18/07/2021 20:49

Unfortunately the measures I would do in say flu season - washing hands, avoiding big crowds/public transport etc aren't enough. I've had flu a couple of times but have been ok. Covid I was very close to not making it out the other side. I've had two vaccination doses but as someone else said, the protection due to the medication I take could mean I won't have much protection. I was able to WFH in the first two peaks but I have changed my job and now in a school so can't WFH.

OP posts:
HazyDaisy123456 · 18/07/2021 20:50

I am going very low key. I am on leave for the next fortnight and have been fortunate enough to be able to work part time from home.

I certainly won’t be going to the hairdressers, supermarket, shops or indoors in a restaurant etc.