I apologise if anyone considers this to be arrogant or in any way condescending, that’s really not my intention, but I’ve noticed quite a few posts over the last few days (somewhat understandably) from people with lung conditions or caring for people with lung conditions, asking about whether they should be isolating. To the BLF administrators, it would be really helpful if the BLF perhaps made an official, ‘sticky’ post at the top of the home page with this information, but it’s actually really quite straight forward: [Your wish is our command Charlie. This is an excellent post and deserves to be pinned so it can easily be found and read again.]
If you would normally be advised to have a seasonal flu vaccine each year as the result of being considered high risk, even if you don’t actually *choose* to have it, you are considered higher risk for complications from contacting covid-19 and fall within the government definition of vulnerable. Almost all people with chronic lung conditions fall into this category, including asthma and COPD.
The official advice for those who are in the vulnerable groups, which in addition to those aged over 70 absolutely includes anyone who is advised to routinely receive the flu jab, is currently that we should be practicing social distancing. In effect, this actually means isolating ourselves from contact with others as much as possible to avoid contracting the virus, and it’s expected that the advice will imminently change in the next few days to suggest we self-isolate at home for a number of weeks and months to protect ourselves as much as we possibly can. This means not leaving the house unless absolutely necessary, or avoiding all contact with others if you do have to go out.
As an otherwise low risk carer, the issue of whether to also self-isolate alongside the person you care for is slightly more difficult, and everyone must do what they feel appropriate for the circumstances, however advice can be obtained from a number of reliable sources, including from Carer’s UK, that amongst other things currently advocates stringent following of Public Health England advice around personal hygiene, when to isolate due to experiencing symptoms, and what to do if you’re providing informal care for someone that you don’t live with and suddenly find you can’t safely care for them as a result of the outbreak.
The current advice is to my mind somewhat unclear, as until I personally became high risk in December I was one, but informal carers are actually advised to obtain the seasonal flu vaccine to protect those they care for, and this is therefore entirely my personal view: if someone considered high risk is dependent on your care, very serious consideration needs to be given to isolating alongside them for the duration of any measures advised to protect them. Measures are coming in to place to prevent unnecessary issues with mortgages/rent, and finances generally, and it’s not always well known that anyone that is the primary carer for someone qualified as disabled under the Equality Act 2010 is entitled to the same protections occupationally as if that person was being employed in the role. This means that you are legally entitled to up to 18 weeks leave to care (or organise care) for them, albeit unpaid in many cases, but access to universal credit may well be an option for many, and I speak from experience as a full-time carer when I say it’s not perfect as a benefit, but it’s not actually that bad either, and we are in a situation where ‘needs very much must’ to protect those we care for.
I really hope this information is useful to anyone questioning whether they are considered vulnerable, or otherwise wondering what to do for the best with regards to someone they provide care for. It’s really important to realise and acknowledge that some people with underlying health problems are absolutely going to survive contracting covid-19, evidence from other countries shows it’s not actually a death sentence: preventing infection by staying in and isolating is mostly about not overwhelming the health services in one go, and we can all play our part by not going out if we are high risk, and making the right choices that protect those we care for if we wouldn’t otherwise be considered high risk. To paraphrase various posts I’ve seen from medical professionals shared here and on social media: they’re doing their part by going to work, high risk individuals need to do their part by staying home.
Hi Charlie. Thank you for taking the time to write all that. It's something I've just been trying to find out about and that makes it pretty clear. I hope you and your little person are doing as well as can be.
We started formal, indefinite ‘isolation’ yesterday, and I only half-jokingly told my best mate that even if we survive covid-19 unscathed, I can’t necessarily guarantee we’ll survive being trapped in the house together for the duration! 👀🤦♂️😂
All joking aside, that’s actually why I made the post, although I did hesitate for quite a while for fear of people thinking I was preaching or whatever: the message as to who is at risk, or what that actually means in practice, doesn’t appear to be clear or being communicated clearly by mainstream sources if some of the posts are anything to go by, and I also know there are quite a few people here that are primarily present as carers, even if some of us are also high risk in our own right. From our own experiences, I think part of the problem is that the situation is developing so rapidly, and changing so very rapidly, that even expert medics are scrambling to keep up: I’m hoping for an update from Bod’s (highly expert!) tertiary team tomorrow, but as of right now, they can’t tell me what’s going to happen for review, or routine IVs, or even how we’re going to flush her port (due yesterday) given that all home visits are currently cancelled. Thankfully, her fev1 is stable in the low 70s post IVs in Feb, but she’s been consistently really wet and nasty with negative culture since prior to discharge, and I am very worried that we’re really not going to be starting from a good place overall if she catches covid-19 and it gets a proper hold. I think the issues we’re having could actually still be fungal from last autumn, so I also put that to them yesterday and framed it as ‘if she gets this, I think we could be f*^<#d right now!’ 🤷♂️
Hope you’re hanging in there.
Hi Charlie_G
When I told my wife that I may not be able to leave the house for 4 months she said that she would go and live with her sister. Mind you - I don't think even I could stand myself for 4 months. So maybe she has a point.
Keep well
Kevin
Why 4 months? The NHS letters say 12 weeks for those considered at highest risk of catching Covid. Is there a reason for you not being able to leave house for 4 months? Or did you mean 3 but accidentally typed 4?
It probably was a typo, but whilst the nhs letters said 12 weeks, I’m very genuinely thinking it could be closer to 12 months at this point, maybe longer. As long as social distancing is required by the majority, there’s clearly an ongoing risk. As long as there’s a risk, how can any of us that are shielding possibly stop?
Hi
We were originally informed here in N.Ireland that it would be FOUR (yes 4) months but shortly thereafter we both received letters from our GPs that it would indeed be for 12 weeks.
Sorry for putting the frightners on you but I think that Charlie G is now nearer the mark. This government hasn't a clue. An average of 15,000 people are flying into the UK every day and no supervision. The CEO at Heathrow has requested, on several occasions, that restrictions be employed and what did the government do - NOTHING
Says it all
Be safe!!!
Regards
Kevin