Update on Covid providing information on prevalence and hospital admissions for England and its regions. This post is best viewed using the browser or Substack app.
Thank you for such a comprehensive report. As a severely immunosuppressed blood cancer patient who has not produced one antibody after 7 vaccines I have stopped taking it now. I see no point now. I'm still largely shielding after 4.5 years thanks to the now previous government . I know others in same situation who see no point in vaccine now. FFP3 masks are our only way but we have to put up with gaslighting especially in the NHS.
In theory there is a possibility as CLL is a disease of the B cells and doesn't touch the T cells. However, the drug to control the CLL also hits the T cells and unfortunately I know of a few people on the same drug as me who were vaccinated and got covid, who very sadly died. Our only hope of a normal life is monoclonal antibodies but government won't approve it. They keep asking for trials to be done which are effective and then by the time the MHRA looks at it, there are new variants!! We need emergency use authorisation or move abroad and live in a country that makes it available to its citizens e.g. EU.
I know it has been very hard for immunocompromised people, I hope an effective solution can be found. I think Keir Starmer said he would "do something" for immunocompromised people, hope that happens. Might it still be worth getting vaccinated, it may be that not everyone's response is the same - might it still save some lives, even though one wouldn't want to change behaviour around masking etc.?
Can people who are newly immunosupressed or who couldn't have a vaccine during a booster campaign (for medical reasons) get one outside of the campaigns? It seems strange the winter campaign shut down when flu jabs are available through to March.
Fiona, there is test positivity data available over several years. However, it's important to remember that positivity data is only calculated for PCR tests and comparing positivity across earlier years would be difficult due to the many changes in testing policies. Since 2020, we have moved from population symptom testing using PCR --> mass testing with LFD --> full testing in hospitals --> diagnostic testing in hospital since June 2023. Each policy changes the number of PCR tests undertaken and the way that individuals are selected so that comparing the test positivity rate across these periods is not possible.
That makes sense. I think this makes it hard for individuals to assess their current risk from this kind of newer data though, is there any breakdown of earlier positivity data anywhere that could be used to make a meaningful comparisons? If not, might it be useful to include hospitalisation and deaths data going back to 2020 in graphs in these reports to help provide context?
As ever, an invaluable source of potentially life saving information. 🙏
Thank you for the update, really useful and helpful.
Thank you for such a comprehensive report. As a severely immunosuppressed blood cancer patient who has not produced one antibody after 7 vaccines I have stopped taking it now. I see no point now. I'm still largely shielding after 4.5 years thanks to the now previous government . I know others in same situation who see no point in vaccine now. FFP3 masks are our only way but we have to put up with gaslighting especially in the NHS.
Is there any chance that some patients who don't mount an antibody response may make a T-cell response and gain some protection?
In theory there is a possibility as CLL is a disease of the B cells and doesn't touch the T cells. However, the drug to control the CLL also hits the T cells and unfortunately I know of a few people on the same drug as me who were vaccinated and got covid, who very sadly died. Our only hope of a normal life is monoclonal antibodies but government won't approve it. They keep asking for trials to be done which are effective and then by the time the MHRA looks at it, there are new variants!! We need emergency use authorisation or move abroad and live in a country that makes it available to its citizens e.g. EU.
I know it has been very hard for immunocompromised people, I hope an effective solution can be found. I think Keir Starmer said he would "do something" for immunocompromised people, hope that happens. Might it still be worth getting vaccinated, it may be that not everyone's response is the same - might it still save some lives, even though one wouldn't want to change behaviour around masking etc.?
Another detailed and highly informative update. Thank you for continuing to provide a vital source for all those who still care.
Can people who are newly immunosupressed or who couldn't have a vaccine during a booster campaign (for medical reasons) get one outside of the campaigns? It seems strange the winter campaign shut down when flu jabs are available through to March.
Is there positivity data going back further? Am wondering how the data above compares to earlier years?
Fiona, there is test positivity data available over several years. However, it's important to remember that positivity data is only calculated for PCR tests and comparing positivity across earlier years would be difficult due to the many changes in testing policies. Since 2020, we have moved from population symptom testing using PCR --> mass testing with LFD --> full testing in hospitals --> diagnostic testing in hospital since June 2023. Each policy changes the number of PCR tests undertaken and the way that individuals are selected so that comparing the test positivity rate across these periods is not possible.
That makes sense. I think this makes it hard for individuals to assess their current risk from this kind of newer data though, is there any breakdown of earlier positivity data anywhere that could be used to make a meaningful comparisons? If not, might it be useful to include hospitalisation and deaths data going back to 2020 in graphs in these reports to help provide context?
Thank you ❤️