Daily mail & sheilding update

[MOOG144]

So it appears the DM has announced that sheilding will stop at the end of July...

mol.im/a/8428197

Hope the link works

Guess we'll find out if it's true soon enough 🤷🏼‍♀️

[suzannah16]

that's terrible, they haven't even waited long enough to see if deaths increase as they ease lockdown for healthy people. I can isolate myself with shopping deliveries but I have no way of collecting my medicines if this stops.

[MOOG144 in reply to suzannah16]

Hi Suzannah16

I think that should there be a second wave in the next 6 weeks they would be quick enough to lock us back down.

Also think we need to wait and see what the official line is... the DM isn't always the most reliable news source.

Just find it frustrating that the DM are makinv announcements before the Government do

[happytulip]

It's been reported in a reliable medical journal too.

(And The Sun).

I expect an announcement tomorrow.

Using the DM and The Sun is one up from a "Tweet".

Not very impressed at how the Shielded/vulnerable/disabled are being treated. 3 tins of tomato soup and a massive bag of pasta each week doesn't really make up for treating us like lesser beings.

These plans should be announced at the daily briefing and with medical input. Not as a tabloid headline. In my opinion.

[MOOG144 in reply to happytulip]

Totally agree.... must admit I have emailed my local MP to complain about it... i know it doesn't change anything but made me feel better x

[PMRpro in reply to happytulip]

Mine too. How many of the elderly who are the majority of shielders are on Twitter? I have better things to read.

[Makimon]

I saw on Twitter it was an article released by the Health Service Journal earlier today. I’d not heard of them before but I think they’re a reputable source of information. I’m totally shocked that this information has been leaked before the government even acknowledges people who are shielding let alone give us an update! How do they know what the pandemic figures will be like then? Covid won’t magically disappear even if people think it will. I’m very scared about the future and will be faced with a tough decision in July (if that’s the case) whether I decide to return to work and risk things or stay at home indefinitely until I deem it to be safe. I feel like there is so much mis-information coming from the government which is not being led by science. Basically it’s a trade off between the economy and people’s safety and it’s clear what they have chosen. Sorry rant over!

[MOOG144 in reply to Makimon]

I guess I feel a little different.... I think that the economy needs to be restarted as soon as possible, it doesn't need to be at our expense...

I don't think that the rest of the population should be locked down indefinitely because I'm high risk, I need to protect myself. Not saying I'm right just the way I feel about it all, the Country needs to restart at some point before everyone is out of a job.

I truly believe that if the figures show a dramatic increase in infections before the end of July then the advice given to us will change.

[Makimon in reply to MOOG144]

I think it’s good to discuss our differing opinions 😊 I can see things from your point of view too. It’s a very complex situation and none of us have experienced this before. There’s going to be people with many different feelings which are all unique to them and are completely valid. Let’s hope that things get cleared up soon so we can all be clued up on any changes happening and make our own informed decisions.

I feel like people have been taking many unnecessary risks which could indeed increase the spread of the virus. Watching the news and seeing a lot of people not following the rules on social distancing and face coverings is pretty alarming to me. I don’t expect people to be locked down indefinitely either, it’s up to them what they do but whilst the threat of Covid is still quite high I don’t feel comfortable in making any changes to shielding myself. I hope that makes sense 😊

[PMRpro in reply to Makimon]

"I’m totally shocked that this information has been leaked before the government even acknowledges people who are shielding let alone give us an update!"

Not sure shocked is the word I'd use - disgusted more like. But it is obviously following another leader's example... And I have to screw up the courage to click on a DM link even when it is one of their not-entirely-bad medical articles that I need to see to know what they really said so that isn't an acceptable route for information either.

[happytulip]

Paul_Howard can LUK highlight to the govt how distressing these leaked headlines are? Leaking information about the Shielded Community is not on. A tabloid headline is not the place to hear about this.

I wrote to my MP about the Tweet from R Jenrick. These announcements should be made at the daily briefing with medical input available.

I've been on the phone to a friend who is shielding and she has had a significant panic attack since hearing about this. Again it's been released late at night with more questions than answers and absolutely no medical input available.

Stress fuels lupus as you know and this is a very stressful thing for some. Especially those who are fearful about returning to work.

It was just the same when that Tweet was released about restrictions being lifted for us .

Other than writing to our MP can we do anything else?

I feel like we are being treated like lesser human beings.

These announcements should be made at a proper briefing from the government with medical input available.

Can I please ask your thoughts?

Thank you

[Paul_Howard Partner LUPUS UK in reply to happytulip]

Hi happytulip ,

It is really inappropriate that this has been leaked prior to announcement at a daily briefing.

We were one of more than 60 organisations who has signed National Voices' 5 principals, "Nothing about us, without us" - nationalvoices.org.uk/sites...

We also discuss the method of communicating updates about shielding in RAIRDA's report, due out later today or tomorrow.

[happytulip in reply to Paul_Howard]

Thanks Paul. It looks like they haven't followed or respected the key points in the document.

[RachelD1972]

I’ve seen the reports from various sources this morning. Covid is going to be around and bubbling away for a long time and we will be at risk until there is a vaccine. I will continue to be cautious in the same way as I have always done while on immune suppressants when out of shielding. In terms of leaking information, I don’t always watch the updates now. But, knowing something is in the pipeline means I will and it does gives others a heads up. Since my initial shielding letter I have had no other communication from my medical teams and have relied on .gov, NRAS and lupus UK for info.

[Cjtigger]

I have been shielding since before it started. I got 2 phone calls from the Gov Covid people saying my shielding stops on 30th June.

Also food parcels are stopping as well.

In the beginning I got 4 letters telling me to shield.

I don't see how you can go from shielding one day then able to go anywhere the day after.

I wont be going shopping or any indoor places for a long time yet.

Stay safe everyone.

[happytulip]

Ha ha ha 😂😂😂

[Tbrz]

I do agree this is not the way for the shielded group to hear about this latest guidance, but it is fairly typical of how we have generally been treated. I would also like to hear the ‘science’ behind this decision. However, I do agree with MOOG114 that the economy needs to be started and for people to be able to get on with their lives, especially the young. I am happy to carry on shielding if it means others can go on with their lives, or I can decide for myself how much I want to put myself at risk, but I am able to cope to stay at home a little longer.

I do think the government needs to see if the rate of infection increases after lockdown has eased, before this decision, which is why would be useful to have a proper announcement with the medical opinion.

I personally will be cautious whatever the government guidance is, we went into lockdown 2 weeks before the government decision as we saw what was happening. I am concerned having been in a bubble for over 3 months means I will be even more prone to picking up infections, so I will be taking extra care.

[DJK99]

Thanks for that - I laughed out loud!

[CecilyParsley]

Never trust the Daily Fail. Always on the wrong side of history 🤔💩

[Poshcards]

it does say...to be announced, not yet finalised xx

[heatherevans28]

I just wanted to clarify that the HSJ is not a medical journal or anything like that. It's a magazine on health / medical issues which is owned by the Guardian.

For anyone who wants to read the 'source', this is it: hsj.co.uk/news/exclusive-sh...

The article is very minimal. They are saying they've learnt this from 'sources close to the issue' but are not naming or quoting anyone at all. There's no quotes from a document or meeting which is often how these things get leaked. They've also stated in it that this hasn't been confirmed or finalised. It all seems a bit dodgy and uncertain to me, but that's purely my opinion. This has then been rephrased in an article by the DM, using HSJ as the 'source'.

Personally I expect them to announce shielding will be extended until the end of July (the same as Scotland) this week. Before then I would expect more announcements about what those in the shielding group can do in order to lessen the impact on daily life.

I live in Scotland where the rules are very different to Englands (from tomorrow), so we have decided that we are no longer following the recommendations here. We are still staying home 99% of the time, shopping online and fully socially distancing, but I'm having contact with my husband and exercising regularly outside with him. I've also seen two other households with full social distancing in place. I'm being safe but also balancing this with my quality of life.

I do think shielding needs to end at some point soon for personal wellbeing, but I can see it becoming the same as the rules currently in place for those strictly social distancing for a while. When it comes to pulling support, this seems very sensationalist but only time will tell. For me personally my 'support' is from my local pharmacy and online shopping which were both in place before lockdown. I appreciate this is very different for those relying on food parcels.

I'm not sure if this is useful to anyone but wanted to clarify the source, because it took me a while to work it out myself. I hope everyone is keeping well.