How do you feel about testing/isolation ending?

[Usernumber5253747293]

If it happens ^

I was speaking to a relative earlier and I was saying how glad I will be when and if all the isolation and testing rules end. It's not that I don't take covid seriously, because we really have. I spent nearly 2 years being so anxious about getting to catching it and being fine!! I know not everyone gets away with it's so mildly but my experience of covid wasn't too bad at all!

Anyway, both dc have sen. Isolation periods have been hard (Dd has had covid twice) m, holding down to test them has been hard, waiting for test results etc. I can't bloody wait to feel like I don't have to anymore. We all had covid in December. The isolation period was hell, far worse than the actual illness. My dc were climbing the walls! Dc had barely any symptoms really and found the isolation hard.

Of course if dc were ill I'd keep them off until better as I would have before covid. I've always kept my kids away from people when germy.

My relative is moaning about all the rules ending and how it will spread it! Which is ironic as they were very poorly last month with covid symptoms and didn't test or isolate but that's another story 😅

I just feel people should use their common sense. If you feel ill, stay home. If you have to go out when ill don't go too close to people, wash your hands and practise good respiratory hygiene!

It's a good thing right? Surely I'm not the only one waiting ever so patiently for any announcement over it 😅

I have already been horribly ill whilst fully vaccinated and am now suffering long term effects that make me vulnerable so I’m afraid I don’t share your optimism. I wish I was privileged enough to be happy about it rather than worried though. Instead I have to be a second class citizen who hopes her kids don’t bring it home again because people can’t wear masks indoors isolate.

Im a previously healthy mum in her early 40s. To look at me you’d have no idea. I’m so depressed. I don’t want lockdowns. I hate lockdowns

I just want public health protections

We've had protection

You need to protect yourself not rely on others. The restrictions were never about protecting you they were about protecting the nhs

It's been 2 years, how long would you suggest it goes on for

My colleagues say they felt fine when isolating with covid, they were bored....yet we were all running ourselves into the ground doing their job on top of our own trying to cover ... we can't do that anymore!

@FreakinFrankNFurter

I am glad restrictions and isolating are going. I'm in the CV category. I do feel for those who are CEV, it must be difficult not to worry

What did CEV do about other infectious diseases eg flu etc before covid? Were they anxious about catching viruses particularly during winter or has covid been the beginning or increased those concerns? Genuine not goady question by the way

If I had flu symptoms pre Covid (or symptoms of any other infection, including memorably once a cyst on my boob) I had to call the hospital to be evaluated. Flu usually means a hospital stay for people in my situation although luckily I've managed to swerve it so far - flu vaccines work better for me than Covid ones (as I'm sure everyone knows by now, immunosuppressed people often don't get a satisfactory immune response from Covid vaccines).

Yes, I had to avoid people who were ill before Covid. But Covid is more dangerous to people like me than flu/noro/boob cysts. It can cause something called a cytokine storm (a huge immune response which overwhelms the organs and causes them to fail). This is common to many people who have autoimmune diseases.

The other issue is that CEV people have never has to deal with a disease that's so widespread - where I am 1 in 19 people have Covid. There's a strong chance that when I go out for any reason I'll encounter someone with it. And this chance will increase hugely from Thursday.

I am in favour of restrictions ending, but on the proviso that free LFTs remain for CEV people so we can continue to test as and when we need to. And ideally free for those close to us (for example, DD who is a teacher). But that's not going to happen. I can't afford £20 a week for testing, so for me and DH it's time to start staying at home again.

You need to protect yourself not rely on others

How can CEV people protect themselves when their very means of doing so has been removed?

I am in favour of restrictions ending, but on the proviso that free LFTs remain for CEV people so we can continue to test as and when we need to

How will taking a LFT protect you? Surely it’s too late by then? thought those who qualified for the antivirals were to continue to get free tests, or did that not happen in the end?

Think only LFTs for symptomatic people in those groups have been mentioned so far. We don't know yet if there will be provision for asymptomatic, which is concerning. Unless I have missed something.

@Wnkingawalrus

If the CEV get tests - they can give them to family who come to visit- thus stopping an infection with potentially horrific consequences.

Great news for everyone, businesses & economy. If Covid is now endemic, we need to get on with living our lives.

@Wnkingawalrus

I am in favour of restrictions ending, but on the proviso that free LFTs remain for CEV people so we can continue to test as and when we need to

How will taking a LFT protect you? Surely it’s too late by then? thought those who qualified for the antivirals were to continue to get free tests, or did that not happen in the end?

No, those who qualify for AVs will only have access to symptomatic testing.

I need to test regularly to make sure I don't have covid before I inject my immunosuppressant drugs (in addition to the access to AVs issue). You can probably imagine how dangerous it is to have covid in your system when you inject heavy duty immunosuppressants.

[quote praying4]@Wnkingawalrus

If the CEV get tests - they can give them to family who come to visit- thus stopping an infection with potentially horrific consequences.[/quote]
This, also.

CEV people will have to take terrible risks if they wish to see family or friends without access to testing. If they're available to buy, of course not everyone will be able to afford them - if you're better off financially you'll still be able to meet people (and inject essential medication) with a degree of confidence.

If you're poor (or even on a fairly average wage) and CEV, well, tough tits.

@0pheliaBaIIs

That’s really hard. Yet again the sickest are penalised by the government. By this government.

No, those who qualify for AVs will only have access to symptomatic testing.

Surely they only need access to symptomatic testing though? I can't see the advantage of asymptomatic testing.

I need to test regularly to make sure I don't have covid before I inject my immunosuppressant drugs (in addition to the access to AVs issue). You can probably imagine how dangerous it is to have covid in your system when you inject heavy duty immunosuppressants.

How often do you inject? I'm not sure that having covid in your system when you inject as oppose to a couple of days afterwards will make any difference.

I got the distinct impression that Whitty and Vallance don’t support this.

@CryingAtTheDiscotheque

I got the distinct impression that Whitty and Vallance don’t support this.

I think they do but they are used to frighten the public into behaving. Which now means self isolating if you’ve symptoms basically.

@0pheliaBaIIs

You need to protect yourself not rely on others

How can CEV people protect themselves when their very means of doing so has been removed?

Vaccinations
Masks
Sanitiser
Distancing
Isolating

Everything that they have done all along....

CEV people will have to take terrible risks if they wish to see family or friends without access to testing. If they're available to buy, of course not everyone will be able to afford them - if you're better off financially you'll still be able to meet people (and inject essential medication) with a degree of confidence.

I think that you are overestimating the usefulness of lateral flow tests. Whilst false positives are accurate, false negatives are likely if people don't have symptoms The majority of people only test positive after they have symptoms so by then they have already been infectious for a couple of days.

@Belladonna12

No, those who qualify for AVs will only have access to symptomatic testing.

Surely they only need access to symptomatic testing though? I can't see the advantage of asymptomatic testing.

I need to test regularly to make sure I don't have covid before I inject my immunosuppressant drugs (in addition to the access to AVs issue). You can probably imagine how dangerous it is to have covid in your system when you inject heavy duty immunosuppressants.

How often do you inject? I'm not sure that having covid in your system when you inject as oppose to a couple of days afterwards will make any difference.

LFTs are used to detect pre-symptomatic covid as well as asymptomatic.

Even if you're asymptomatic at the point of testing, adding a large dose of immunosuppressant drugs into the mix will mean you likely soon won't be.

If you test positive before you're symptomatic you can obtain antivirals at the earliest opportunity, so the outcome is likely to be even better than if you wait until you're symptomatic. They have to be given within a few days of infection; the earlier, the better.

I inject weekly. And yes, having a live infection when I inject is more dangerous than one I acquire a few days later. Not that it matters - without free testing I'll never know when I've got an infection, whether it's on injection day or later in the week.

Lots of people on similar meds to me are seriously having to weigh up which is the greater danger to them - becoming ill with Covid while immunosuppressed, or living with conditions which can, without treatment, be disabling and/or life shortening. It's a decision nobody should have to make for the sake of a box of tests a week.

I think it's the right time.

It doesn't mean that people should stop being careful and cautious about spreading a contagious illness. But it isn't up to the government to mandate isolation and criminalise the public.

We have to bring to move on now.

Absolutely disgraceful that they are ditching free testing. I could perhaps just about be persuaded on the rest of it, but the end of free testing just shows BJ as the opportunistic incompetent he is.

There are brilliant new treatments they have started prescribing people who test positive which work at home to prevent ending up in hospital. Anybody any idea how they are supposed to work when there’s no testing happening? Utterly disgraceful.

@GirlInACountrySong

Vaccines don't offer adequate protection for immunosuppressed people.

Masks mainly protect others, not the wearer. If most people aren't wearing them, there's no real benefit to CEV people.

Hand washing and sanitiser is something we've always done.

SD, like masks, are only beneficial if everyone's doing it.

What do you mean by isolation? CEV people to stay at home?

Free asymptomatic testing was our main defence. I'm glad all restrictions are going. But I'm not glad that the 500,000 people most at risk in the UK are having that defence removed. You say we can protect ourselves by doing everything we've done all along... For the past year, the mainstay of that was testing.

I think that you are overestimating the usefulness of lateral flow tests

Well if I am, my consultant must be too!

They're incredibly useful for CEV people. They're not perfect, perhaps, but they were (as I keep saying, sorry to sound like a broken record!) our best defence. Better than vaccines, better than masks.

@opheliaballs

Yes, I know all that. But it's something isn't it?

700 million of us in U.K. and the CEV is a fraction of that. 2 years is enough I'm not sure what you expect the rest of us to do now our own health and that of our families is suffering?

@eastegg

Absolutely disgraceful that they are ditching free testing. I could perhaps just about be persuaded on the rest of it, but the end of free testing just shows BJ as the opportunistic incompetent he is.

There are brilliant new treatments they have started prescribing people who test positive which work at home to prevent ending up in hospital. Anybody any idea how they are supposed to work when there’s no testing happening? Utterly disgraceful.

You’ll still be tested by medical proffessional In health care settings, so if you need medication you’d be tested and prescribed.

What’s been done is sensible it’s costing 2 billion a month to keep the testing going, testing when you need medical intervention only is the right thing to do.

[quote GirlInACountrySong]@opheliaballs

Yes, I know all that. But it's something isn't it?

700 million of us in U.K. and the CEV is a fraction of that. 2 years is enough I'm not sure what you expect the rest of us to do now our own health and that of our families is suffering?

[/quote]
I'm not expecting you to do anything. People have done enough to protect the vulnerable, have sacrificed enough. It's time to move on.

All I'm saying is that some CEV people need access to free LFTs in order to have some semblance of normality, and to know that when they take their immunosuppressant medication they don't have a disease which could kill them. I don't think that's a huge ask. As you say, we're a fraction of the UK population, so giving us access to a box of tests a week makes far more economic sense than paying for our hospital care if/when we become very ill. Or the cost of us being economically inactive because we're told to avoid busy places/public transport, so working is difficult or impossible.

Bring on the end of all restrictions. Just don't leave vulnerable people behind.

testing when you need medical intervention only is the right thing to do

@Chestofdraws indeed. For example, having access to free testing before you take immunosuppressant medication.

That way, you can avoid the need for greater (and more expensive) intervention down the line, when someone becomes extremely (and avoidably) ill.