Poll: To what extent are you (PwME) still shielding from Covid?

[Edit: 'Mask at home' should have been 'I live with people and mask at home' but I'm not allowed to edit it now!]

I just came a cropper after catching a virus, possibly Covid, despite shielding since Covid started. I can only think that it was due to not masking outdoors.

I'm wondering how many of us virus-vulnerable PwME are still shielding, and to what extent...

 

My answer nowadays would probably be 'I mask where I might be a risk to vulnerable people, or where others prefer to mask'.

It used to be 'I mask only in busy indoor spaces', but it's seemed a bit pointless since I went back to playing music in groups. I probably picked up both Covid infections and a head cold there, but I can't wear a mask.

 

I wasn’t sure what the best was so went for mask and home and avoid contact. I’m housebound, don’t mask with those I live with, but do on the rare occasion I have a visitor for some other reason. Usually medical professionals and they used to mask but now don’t routinely so it’s one of the other things you need to ask for on top of trying to explain all the other aspects of ME.

 

I've gotten vaccinated before, and gotten what I assume was covid despite the vaccination, and that flu caused minor symptoms for two or three days, so I'm just not worried about covid. I rarely see anyone masked in town, so they don't seem worried either.

 

Personally, I find it really dispiriting and alienating that so many of us are fine not making an effort to hinder the spread of a still-deadly virus… which also causes ME!

I could never hope to repay my debt of gratitude had the person who got me sick in 2007 shown me this consideration. How unfathomably different my life might be. How much longer I could expect it to be.

it seems to me that though we’ve endured so much suffering and neglect, many of us can’t be bothered to protect others from a similar fate .

 

The results probably reflect the fact that many of us don’t even go to busy indoor spaces, or do so less than once a fortnight and may not socialise in close proximity with others in between

 

Not sure any of the categories suit me. I don’t wear a mask at home but wear it fairly regularly for public transport, medical appointments, etc. but not usually with my rare bit of socialising.

For the first 25 years of being severely affected, I went to barely any social events outside my house ever but can’t face going back to that life indefinitely.

 

The last time I was indoors with people other than family, which was months ago, I planned to wear a mask and had it in my pocket, but forgot to put it on (my brain was at capacity trying to stay conscious and occasionally talk). And of course no one else was wearing one so there was nothing to remind me of it.

 

I use a nasal spray and a mask in public transport or crowded indoor spaces like hospitals or supermarkets. The mask interferes too much with talking so I don't use it when social interaction is required.

I also try to minimize unnecessary indoor activities.

I also wash hands before eating at home.

 

You could also think this as if you were predisposed to have this condition, if there is such thing, perhaps you would have gotten it with another infection next year.

I didn't tick the mask boxes because I've spent my last 5 years at home. For about 1-2 years now I've only met regularly one person, the person who brings me weekly my food orders. And just at the door for few seconds. I think that by not masking it's me who's going to get infected if someone is going to.

 

When I referred to many pwME not taking covid precautions, I wasn’t basing that off the results of this poll but my observations of pwME on social media over the last few years. Sorry for not being clearer about that!

 

I'm not fine about it, but there has to be a risk/benefit analysis as well as a response to other people's preferences.

The only way I can think about risk/benefit is through my experience with Covid, which suggests I'm not at greater risk than anyone else my age. The downside of not masking was that I got infected twice and felt really strange for a few days, though not especially ill. The upside is getting to play music I love with small groups of people, the benefits of which are huge to someone who's limited by ME/CFS.

There's always a risk the next infection could be much worse. But there's an equally real risk that it isn't, and by trying to avoid it I miss out on a lot of enjoyment. I'm a wheelchair user in my mid-60s and I've been ill for 48 years. Part of my calculation is asking, how much time is there left when I'll still able to drive a van and do things I really value? It's not only being at increasing risk of serious illnesses like cancer as you age, it's that ME/CFS is unpredictable. Even if I stayed in and took every possible shielding precaution, it could still leave me severely ill from tomorrow. It doesn't need any help from Covid.

As for other people's preferences, only two of the others in the music groups can't wear masks because they play wind instruments. The others could, as but none of them actually does, I'm not imposing my choice on them. If one person did want to mask, we'd do likewise or sit 10+ metres away.

It is tough, specially for indoor activities, and my feelings about it have changed over time. If there'd been a prospect of Covid dying down, the way 'flu pandemics seem to, I feel sure I'd have continued with precautions until it did. But with no end in sight, it's just reviewing what's happening currently and trying to be as considerate as you can.