End of isolation

[AnEpisodeOfEastenders]

Boris Johnson has indicated the requirement to isolate after a positive Covid test will be scrapped at the end of this month. All I can say is about time too! Let's get back to life.

Brexit done TICK
Covid done TICK

@Delatron

In other countries they pay for their tests so it will end up the same here. No idea how much they’ll be though. I doubt less than £10. I’m not sure what the incentive to test will be.

The incentive may be the same reasons to have a PCR, rather than an LFT, now:

• to access antiviral treatment
• to access sickness pay, is ill
• to 'prove' you've got covid for benefits/financial support
• possibly to access care homes and hospices, etc

And fwiw pretty much all the children who have been positive recently HAVE been symptomatic - coughing, cold like features, sickness etc

There may well have been lots of positive cases who were asymptomatic. Lots of children who don't know they have Covid but they are still contagious.

*to access sickness pay, is ill

• to 'prove' you've got covid for benefits/financial support*

But it will be like any other illness so no tests needed (maybe??)

Tests aren't free everywhere and in my opinion nor should they ever have been. I've only taken them when absolutely necessary (travel and the 2 times I had covid symptoms) and I will never test again. Nor have I been subjecting my children to it (only when symptoms so each child has had 2 tests). The sooner we stop reporting cases and stop testing the better.

The financial support is for isolation not the actual illness.

Antiviral treatment is for the vulnerable who will go to doctors and get free tests and care I assume.

And of course the poll will show free testing is popular - who wants to pay for anything? I do think there should be a test amnesty though - we have boxes of them sent home and is happily give them over to someone who wants them.

well are CEV not on full benefits? those who aren't cannot take unpaid time off work protect them indefinitely, or

Err no. Works full time. Never furloughed.

@Alexandra2001 I was merely stating a fact. I have not stated whether I think this is a good thing or not. I have absolutely no idea why you cannot correct a simple fact without words being put in your mouth.
Quite bizarre.

@Alexandra2001 sorry I may have misunderstood what you were saying. It is late and I am tired.
I absolutely agree it is going to take ages for hospitals to catch up on waiting lists etc.
My comment was more that as long as COVID admissions don't rise there won't be additional pressure on hospitals if people don't get as sick with Omicron and vaccines continue to work .
I really hope that is the case

Anyone who is vulnerable and thinks they are protected now is living under false pretenses.

There are all kinds of positive people out there now, but they don't know it. They haven't symptoms, or tested when it wasn't the right time, or haven't tested because they cannot isolate.

Regular masks don't stop covid. Even people working with proper fitted masks etc in hospitals are getting it. No one can live like that in everyday life.

It's better to make decisions based on the reality, not an illusion of protection.

@Delatron

The financial support is for isolation not the actual illness.

Antiviral treatment is for the vulnerable who will go to doctors and get free tests and care I assume.

You've probably not had much experience of accessing doctors and specialists regarding health treatment, if you feel it's this simple.

If I have pain break through it can be over a fortnight before I can get through to anyone to get it sorted.

Even with covid this time, it took me until day 5's morning to speak to someone who could sort the antivirals. Antivirals which need to be taken by day 5. Luckily at that point, the locus doctor who called me back was able to speak to the hospital there and then and got me in that morning. Another day later and it wouldn't have happened.

Just getting a doctors appointment at the mom et can be difficult. Let alone, getting an appointment, arranging a test from that doctor, waiting for the results, then another appointment to confirm result, then waiting for a referral to the clinic.

The tests need to be freely and readily available immediately for those patients.

The people who are eligible for antivirals may well increase soon too, once the trials are complete. They are considering them being available for a much wider group of CV people, such as those over 5os.

well are CEV not on full benefits

I'm CV rather than CEV, but eligible for 4th vaccine and antiviral treatment.

I work full time, never had furlough.

Over 50s to be considered cv?! Don’t be silly. We are all clinically vulnerable to something or other, now or in the future. What a way to raise health anxiety.

It’s bad enough the existing cev cowering. I have had the 4th jab and I’m still quaking. Prior to coronavirus I was simply told “avoid people with colds/flu etc” which I did, but since all the scary texts and letters and so on I think that so many of us are living half or even a quarter of a life which we didn’t think to before.

My DH is classed as CEV and is self employed working 6 days a week. He receives no benefits other than a medical exemption for prescription charges.

Tbh I have stopped testing both myself and Ds. So either of us could be walking around with covid.

So unless symptomatic wouldn't know.

I start a new job next week..i absolutely can't afford to isolate unless ill.

My DH is classed as CEV and is self employed working 6 days a week. He receives no benefits other than a medical exemption for prescription charges.
DH doesn't even qualify for that. The only thing he gets is a blue badge.
He is however a HRT payer who worked from home fortunately throughout the pandemic.

@Abraxan sorry you’re finding it so difficult to access treatment.

I wasn’t saying I supported taking away free tests just pointing out this was going to happen and for people to be aware. We’ve been fortunate to be able to access free testing.

I hope something is sorted so those vulnerable can be prioritised for free testing and quick treatment. We should be focusing on this as part of ‘living with Covid’. Focusing on those that need the help the most.

@DottyHarmer

Over 50s to be considered cv?! Don’t be silly. We are all clinically vulnerable to something or other, now or in the future. What a way to raise health anxiety.

It’s bad enough the existing cev cowering. I have had the 4th jab and I’m still quaking. Prior to coronavirus I was simply told “avoid people with colds/flu etc” which I did, but since all the scary texts and letters and so on I think that so many of us are living half or even a quarter of a life which we didn’t think to before.

It not me making the decision re who will be eligible for antiviral treatment and I didn't say that over 50s will be classed as CV. I said they may well become eligible for antiviral treatment, due to being more vulnerable overall.

And whether you agree or not that is exactly what the current antiviral trials, run by the University of Oxford is looking at right now. They are trialing it's use, with government partnership, and anyone aged 50+ and most people included in the wider CV group are eligible to apply to do the trail if they test positive, but to do so they must have a PCR. When testing positive there is a link to this trial, for people to apply.

The results of the trial will determine who will be eligible for the antiviral treatment, whether that is oral medication or by infusion.

So, its not just me 'being silly' when I typed that over 50s could be included in that 'more vulnerable' group when there are live trials currently taking place to determine that very thing.

It’s one thing to offer anti-virals to all over 50s (in the same way as a flu jab is offered) but another to label them cv simply by virtue of being over 50.

@StarCat2020

Brexit done TICK Covid done TICK

🍾🍾

Antivirals for flu are not routinely offered. Some forms of flu viruses do have antiviral medication but this is not often used.

The last time I remember it being more widely available was when swine flu was around - that was self declared though. You simply phoned or completed an online form with symptoms, and you were sent a prescription to collect antivirals. There were no publicly available tests for swine flu like there is for covid, only really tested for in hospitals iirr. Lots of people got given antiviral tablets, though it was found that plenty of those people never actually had swine flu anyway.

At present the antiviral treatment for covid is much more restricted, even for vulnerable people. Only a small number of people are eligible automatically, though the trial opens it to more. Not everyone who applies is given it though- it's a 50/50 chance at the moment for those other groups.

I suspect the covid vaccine may eventually move to a similar routine as the flu vaccine. The age range was only brought down further (and increased in children) this last year, in response to the pandemic and the concerns of contracting both. I suspect this will continue moving forward, with covid vaccine boosters joining the regime,

Swine flu 2009-2010 was H1N1 so many of the population had already been infected by it in the past giving some degree of immunity.

H1N1 is the same strain as 1918-1921 "Spanish flu" and has been going around ever since.

No-one had ever had any prior exposure to Covid-19 before 2019

@StarCat2020

Swine flu 2009-2010 was H1N1 so many of the population had already been infected by it in the past giving some degree of immunity.

H1N1 is the same strain as 1918-1921 "Spanish flu" and has been going around ever since.

No-one had ever had any prior exposure to Covid-19 before 2019

H1N1 comes in many different sub variants.