Should Shielding be brought back?

[nettie68]

Should shielding be brought back for those that want it? I know some people prefered to prioritise their mental health and not shield but if clincially extremely vulnerable people wish to shield, then shouldn't there be the help to do so. At the moment, if you are CEV, you still need to attend work if you can't work from home. What about other household members, should their be support for them too, as if they need to go to work then they could still bring the virus home to the vulnerable person. Surely this would also alleviate some of the pressure on the hospitals as well.

@nettie68

*What do you think the CEV should do then?

As 'the CEV' aren't one homogenous group all with the same needs it's impossible to answer this question.

I have several friends and acquaintances who are either CEV or live with someone who is and they have all found different solutions according to their needs, their circumstances and their attitude to risk.

I fear that if you expect the country or the government to come up with a solution you will have a lot of people for whom that solution is the worst possible. That comes out on many MN threads of this sort where different CEV people express their opinions on what they would like to happen, or what works for them.

What the people I've talked to about it say is that they talked their situation through with the medical professionals who best understood their circumstances and, with their help, worked out a plan.

@nettie68

So this is my situation, my husband is receiving chemo for a cancer that is at this stage cureable. Chemo makes you immune suppressed so more likely to be seriously ill from covid. A positive covid test will also delay treatment which could push the cancer from cureable to incureable. I have to go to work in a job that is not covid secure and can't be done from home. If I bring home covid, I could potentially kill him and if that happens I have to live with that for the rest of my life. Now, what I am supposed to do? What would you do in my situation?

Do you get sick pay? I would get a 6 month sick note for stress related to your husbands treatment.

I don't think shielding should be brought back . It would be better to make life more difficult for those that are not vaccinated and are not wearing masks rather than the CEV.

@nettie68

Should shielding be brought back for those that want it? I know some people prefered to prioritise their mental health and not shield but if clincially extremely vulnerable people wish to shield, then shouldn't there be the help to do so. At the moment, if you are CEV, you still need to attend work if you can't work from home. What about other household members, should their be support for them too, as if they need to go to work then they could still bring the virus home to the vulnerable person. Surely this would also alleviate some of the pressure on the hospitals as well.

He will be eligible to receive antiviral or monoclonal antibody treatment. Has he had a e mail or letter yet regarding this?

www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/treatments-for-coronavirus/

What did people do, who were immune suppressed or extremely vulnerable to flu/colds/other viruses, before covid existed? I guess they would do that again.

I don't remember the government ever paying people their salary to not work, due to being ill or vulnerable to any other illness, you just got SSP.

@DockOTheBay

What did people do, who were immune suppressed or extremely vulnerable to flu/colds/other viruses, before covid existed? I guess they would do that again.

I don't remember the government ever paying people their salary to not work, due to being ill or vulnerable to any other illness, you just got SSP.

People who are immunosuppressed have always done their best to avoid infection. However, Covid-19 is harder to avoid as more prevalent and infectious as well as able to cause serious illness.

@DockOTheBay

What did people do, who were immune suppressed or extremely vulnerable to flu/colds/other viruses, before covid existed? I guess they would do that again.

I don't remember the government ever paying people their salary to not work, due to being ill or vulnerable to any other illness, you just got SSP.

While I don’t expect the government to financially support me or advise me and I’m happy to take risks because I have been going out to work, covid isn’t comparable. Regular colds aren’t as contagious nor as prevalent as covid.

The last time there was a pandemic of a novel virus doing the rounds infecting 100,000+ people a day I wasn't born.

@DockOTheBay

What did people do, who were immune suppressed or extremely vulnerable to flu/colds/other viruses, before covid existed? I guess they would do that again.

I don't remember the government ever paying people their salary to not work, due to being ill or vulnerable to any other illness, you just got SSP.

Many CEV people are not vulnerable to colds and other common viruses as they have built up immunity to those. Covid 19 is a new NOVEL virus that makes people's immune systems work a lot harder to fight off. Some are lucky enough to get away with cold symptoms, some are not. The vaccines seem to be working well for some cev groups but the vaccines don't work for all cev. And no one on here has asked for the government to pay their salary for them!

@PastMyBestBeforeDate

The last time there was a pandemic of a novel virus doing the rounds infecting 100,000+ people a day I wasn't born.

Yes, quite. We didn't need to concern ourselves with that one 😂.

A lot of CEV people who are housebound may not have had booster or third jabs yet, I know I haven't yet despite ringing my doctor's weekly, allI keep getting told is I am on a list. So much for Boris saying that all booster jabs would be done be the end of the year.

I wonder if Dock will come back since some of you answered them nicely?

I sympathise. It is such a difficult situation. DH was ECV and the vaccine was unlikely to have worked for him. We decided we couldn’t continue to shield after schools reopened as it wasn’t fair on the kids. DH still works from home, although this is currently mandatory for his company in the UK at the moment again. Some people he knows have spent the time they were furloughed retaining and moved to his sector so they can work from home.