These are personal to me but I think much will apply to other people like us in the renal/transplant community.
I’d like to know the current circulation of the virus. and advice on where/what the risks are for us engaging in different activities now that restrictions are off and there’s a general belief in the population that Covid-19 is no longer a problem.
I’m happier seeing masks when I go to outpatient/inpatient clinics and the GP. I wear a mask on public transport, which I use as little as possible, and in shops. We mostly still get groceries delivered.
I’ve started resuming my pre Covid-19 social life by seeing a couple of friends at a time at home; going to a restaurant at quieter times; and very recently going to live music in a mask and asking if I can sit in an accessibility area to be a little more apart from most people there.
I’m not in work and I am a year away from the official state retirement age. My employment ended in May 2020 after a takeover. In August 2022, I suffered a severe bout of shingles which has continued to affect me with nerve pain but that’s eased considerably. I think now it would be safe enough for me to get out there and network to find new employment.
I haven’t had Covid-19 and I have had six jabs. It’s hard to know if I’m being, or have been, excessively cautious in the last year since the national restrictions were lifted. Fear of the effects of Covid-19 has curtailed my behaviour. I had plenty of grit to survive three years on dialysis while continuing to work but an unseen virus is something else when the downside is potentially catastrophic for my patient cohort.
I don’t underestimate the added pressure for renal patients from the financial worries exacerbated by the lockdown and the rise in energy costs.
I am fortunate that although my employment income in the last three years was cut to zero, I have been able to survive financially. I learned a hard lesson when I was a teenager, watching my mother struggling to keep us while she was on dialysis. On my diagnosis of renal failure I vowed that when my time came I needed to be financially secure.
I’m aware that I’m not suggesting solutions, but only offering information which might shape government policy.
