Hello All,
We wanted to let you know about some recent announcements regarding the next covid-19 vaccine.
The government have now confirmed there will be another covid booster vaccine dose in Spring 2023, and another one in Autumn 2023.
Those eligible for a ‘Spring’ 2023 booster include:
adults aged 75 years and over
residents in a care home for older adults
people aged 5 years and over who are immunosuppressed (this includes people with blood cancer).
Eligible individuals can access the vaccine anytime after 90 days from your previous dose.
In England, Spring boosters will start on Monday 17 April 2023 and end on Friday 30 June 2023. The national booking system will open on Wednesday 5 April 2023, so you can book your booster from then.
In Scotland, the Winter booster is still being given until 31 March 2023 and dates for the Spring booster are yet to be announced.
In Wales and Northern Ireland, Spring boosters are set to start on 1st April 2023.
This year’s spring programme will bridge the gap to the planned booster programme in the autumn, enabling those who are most vulnerable to be well protected throughout the summer.
Hi @Ted369,
Thank you for your question. I hope you’re doing okay today?
At this time we are still clarifying if household contacts will be included. We will aim to update everyone as soon as we learn more.
When you say
“This year’s spring programme will bridge the gap to the planned booster programme in the autumn, enabling those who are most vulnerable to be well protected throughout the summer”.
I have had 6 shots so far and produced no measurable antibody response to date as i have Hypogammaglobulinemia as a result of Chemo. How am i now going to be well protected especially when the vaccacines being used are not proven to be effective against curent strains of Covid, They were developed against the original strain + B1 or B4&B5 depending on which you get. I look forward to hearing more.
So where does this leave us.?
Vaccines that are not proven to work against current strains of Covid. As MCA has said in an earlier post.
And no protection from household members.
Shielding for a 4th year I guess?
Just read post by @Ted369 about report by APPGvery interesting. I too have had to fight for vaccines but wonder is it worth it. One thing Government can do is make masks compulsory in health settings. I am so scared if I have to attend for blood tests etc. nurse at GP practice did not wear mask when I had flu jab (another pointless vaccine as have been told unlikely I will mount a response). My husband has prostrate cancer and will have 8 weeks of daily radiotherapy - very anxious he will contract Covid with dire consequences for me. We are still shielding with all extra costs of having to pay for everything we need to be delivered and very high energy costs associated with being home 24/7. Abandoned and forgotten.
Hi @Maureen54 I felt so sad reading your post it must be absolutely horrible feeling so anxious and scared.
Don’t forget the Blood Cancer UK support line is there for you on 0808 2080 888 and perhaps your GP might be able to offer options for support.
Citizens Advice might be able to suggest ideas with financial issues.
Please keep sharing and you are never alone on our forum.
Be kind to yourselves you have a lot going on.
My GP practice is not very good - don’t understand my concerns when I have had to go there such as recent flu jab noted in my post. We are in our late 60s and using savings built up during a lifetime of work so coping financially at moment. Like so many say, all the talk is post pandemic and there is not enough mainstream media and politicians willing to highlight the plight of thousands of us still effectively shielding Thank you for your kind words - much appreciated.
Hi Maureen, The UK Covid‑19 Inquiry would like you to share your experiences. Your answers will help them understand the effect of Covid-19 across the UK and any lessons to be learned. You do not need to have had the Covid‑19 virus to take part.
Your answers will be sent anonymously to the Inquiry.
There is plenty of room to share your views.
Sending you both a hug and stay strong.
Hi ted, my wife and I have been shielding for just 3 years since the start of covid.
And after a slip in our usual procedure I contacted covid passing it onto my wife who has W.M.
I can’t tell you the anxiety this caused me-
Fortunately she was able to access evosheld which has probably helped.
Was wondering how you cope going forward having to effectively put you and your nearest lives on hold?
Steve
Hi Bobbins, We have also been shielding since the start of covid.
It is my husband who has myeloma we are both retired. My husband has also had Evusheld as any protection is better than none, also if he got an infection and ended up in hospital he would feel a bit easier about it ( although to me this is the worst place to be as I think more people catch covid there than any where when it should be the safest place!!!)
Can I ask did your wife need antivirals when she caught covid?
We found it very difficult at the beginning lots of tears and upset but our son, daughter, their partners and our 3 granddaughters and grandson have kind of come to accept it, we were on our own Christmas Day as everyone had the viruses, colds etc that were going around at the time.
And today Mother’s Day was looking forward to our daughter and granddaughters coming round but one has covid and the others not feeling well. But we will make up for it and are looking forward to better weather when we can have a bbq in the garden. So I guess now we just take each day as it comes but feel now for our mental health we will start getting out more, we cannot do another year of being isolated so as the weather improves I will start meeting up with friends for a coffee and chat and we will also eat out as long as it’s outside.
I just really hope the government are not going to leave us abandoned again for another winter I know Evusheld for the UK are doing all they can to change the government’s position on the way we have been treated and getting Evusheld, antivirals etc approved.
I’m still shielding and keeping myself safe as the last place I want to be is in our local covid central hospital
Im happy in my space and out of the rat race as I call it. Actually I’m the happiest I have been for a long time
Im a single parent
My two kids do what they can to limit risks
My daughter still wears her mask at work my son works out doors
Both keep to a set amount of friends who know about my situation
Im working with my employers to get the safest work space to return to work at some point
I also have a week of activities that I do via zoom with other cancer survivors
I’m slimmer and fitter in these last three years
I do take myself out in my car to a drive through for coffee and watch the world go by
This year I’m going to see how it works for a friend at a time to have coffee outside in my garden where I have control.
As general population has returned to normal and no longer have to think about the extremely vulnerable then I will risk assess at all times and happy to do so.
Touching wood so far the three of us have avoided coughs and colds and covid over the winter months
I can really understand where you are coming from. I have Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and I am on Watch and Wait and my husband has Advanced Prostate Cancer. However, he is being treated differently from your husband. Thankfully it is keeping him alive. He first became ill at the end of 2020 during the height of Covid. He had to go to hospital and undertake many tests (he wore a bog standard mask at that time when visiting, there as did the medical staff at that time). There was no vaccination, I believe, at that time or test kits. I remember even being amused that initially hospital volunteers came around to our home and stood in the street to give him a LFT before each appointment.
Now as to your fears, you have to find your own strategy and level of precaution.
We got to the point of being so stressed not going out that we decided this year to reclaim our lives back. We are in our mid-70s so do not want to spend our last few years locked up indoors in our flat. In December, we went to a small theatre to see a play. Thankfully the theatre was quite empty, as was the restaurant we chose to eat in beforehand. (We deliberately sat in the restaurant near an open window for safety’s sake). This month we went to a West End show. Again, deliberate chose isle seats, so my husband was on one side of me and nobody was on the other side of me. Of course we were fully masked. We also went to a local supper quiz and made arrangements to eat in a separate room, then go back to the main room for the quiz afterwards. Wherever we go, we are masked and wherever we eat, it is separate from others or outside. One exception for us was meeting up with our best friends last month for the first time in over three years. We had tea and cake in a local café. Our friends checked themselves out beforehand with a LFT so they were safe before meeting us late in the afternoon, when this large café was basically empty. We may have to plan things like a military operation, but it is working for us so far thanks to PPF3 masks. We do not enjoy feeling like lepers but we do enjoy feeling safe and getting our lives back!
I realise that PPF3 (non-valved not valved) masks are not cheap, but they put our minds at rest and have protected us. With a limited budget, if your husband goes to the hospital all the time, perhaps he should always wear one of these.
I have a lot of ongoing health problems and the rest of my “social life” over the last six months is going to hospitals, my surgery and medical centres. It is awful that most medical staff do not wear masks now and if seeing a doctor or any medic, I always tell the nurse before hand to ask the doctor to mask-up because of my condition. Otherwise, I request it myself directly. I have never had a medical staff member refuse my request. If you do not ask, you do not get. Of course it is disgusting that most people look at Covid like it is over and it is certainly not, especially for us vulnerable folk. Nobody wants to be reminded of Covid and we are a reminder of that unfortunately, due to our unique situation. Then again, perhaps after the next election, things might change regarding policy and support, but not attitudes from the public at large who do not understand out situatioin. They want to move on and so should we as well, as best we can.
and stay strong.