This is just a short article to make the point that although the headline is that shielding “ends” on March 31 the truth is we are far from safe yet as blood cancer patients. With background infection rates of 1 in 270 and the growing data that many people with blood cancer do not make antibodies in response to vaccines there is huge concern that we may just relax our restrictions to quickly. We are all adults, but especially if you have not yet managed to get antibody test confirmation your body even noticed the COVID19 vaccine, my personal advice and the advice of patient charities and even to an extent the government is “still be careful for a bit longer please!” For those who are in the USA or other countries you may be surprised by quite how restrictive the advice to UK blood cancer patients has been. But we have been advised that the only contact we should have with other people are one to one on walks, and at hospital or medical appointments. To be honest not much has changed despite the recent headlines.

Infection rates are going down but we are not protected. Don’t give up at the final hurdle!

Soon I will post on Why and How to get antibody testing done for those in the UK or US. And unless you know your antibody results it is safer to assume that you have NOT responded to the vaccine if you have blood cancer at any stage. I have certainly heard from some in watch and wait, on treatment and in remission who did not create antibodies. I have heard from far fewer who said they had tested positive for antibodies. Since the background infection rate is still relatively high it is surely too early for us to relax. Although I for one am looking forward to garden meetings with friends and family soon.

It is worth saying that I pleased our government has been advising us through the pandemic like this. But please remember the latest decisions are made for the whole group of clinically extremely vulnerable all of whom should now have been vaccinated, and for those with functioning immune systems close to 100% make antibodies. There is also a huge reduction in hospitalisations and deaths attributed to vaccination. None of these benefits will apply to us if we do not make antibodies or a T cell response.

Here is a quote from my shielding email I received today. For those of you on furlough this is good news

“The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough) has been extended until 30 September (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme). You may continue to be eligible throughout this period, even when shielding is paused, providing your employer agrees. The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) has also been extended until 30 September (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/self-employment-income-support-scheme-grant-extension).”

And if you have been working from home all these months then it would be perfectly reasonable to argue you want to continue to do so for longer as part of a reasonable adaptation to the disability you legally acquire the moment you have a cancer diagnosis. See this quote from the email:

“Everyone is currently advised to work from home where possible. If you cannot work from home, you should go to work. Your employer is required to take steps to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace and should be able to explain to you the measures they have put in place to keep you safe at work. Some employers may introduce regular testing of employees as part of these measures. You may also want to consider how you get to and from work, for example, if it is possible to avoid using public transport during rush hour.”

Coming soon: Why and how should I get antibody testing done and what should I do about the results?