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Major new measures to protect people most at risk from Corona Virus

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On 21 March No 10 issued a press release with very strong advice from Public Health England for a range of conditions including

"people with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia" and "people having other targeted cancer treatments which can affect the immune systems such as protein kinase inhibitors"

So that really does mean us I believe.?

We are strongly advised to self isolate and not to go out for 12 weeks not to mix socially and not to go shopping;apparently our medications will be delivered to us and if we do not have family support then voluntary and other groups will deliver food to us.

These measures are effective from 22 March that is today and we will be contacted by our GPs and specialists very soon

Keep safe

John

Hi John, I finished work last Tuesday morning on the advice of my manager, and placed myself on 14 days self isolation, on Friday I was informed by my works I would more than likely be on 12 weeks isolation based on what the government were predicted to say, its happening and I certainly will be following all advice given out, to all Cml members, and everyone else take care. Peter 

I am currently working from home and not going out. I live with my husband and we are keeping our distance from one another at all times. We now have separate bedrooms and bathrooms and he goes out if we need anything. Does this mean I will actually need to self isolate now and just stay in one room in my own and have food left the other side of the door or are we ok continuing with what we are already doing?

does anyone know?

Diane

Hi Diane,

I am not sure of what the precise advice would be but if one you was infected with the Corona virus then I am sure that the strict isolation procedures and the separate living arrangements that you describe would be absolutely essential plus lots of deep cleaning of everything.

I suspect that in your situation as a CML patient you are trying to protect yourself from possible infection from all that you would meet say on public transport and in shops and so on and to minimise family contacts;I think in this situation it is a question of what you are happiest with and things like how much social interaction your partner experiences when he goes shopping .I think that this must be your own joint decision as no one would be policing it.

On the positive side I if you look at the post from Sandy where she refers to the NCRI (National Cancer Research Institute ) sub group recommendations there is still some doubt as to whether we as CML patients are at a higher risk of contracting the virus.Looking through the literature there is some debate about whether the use of tki s actually stimulates the T cells to be stronger or on the other hand  at high dose levels and over a  long time period of drug taking the immune system is depleted.

I suspect that to be on the safe side Public Health England have included us with CML into all the other leukaemias and blood disorders and have assumed that targeted molecular therapy for some might have the same immuno suppressive effects as some forms of chemotherapy.

It would be interesting to ask specialists whether they have a view or if there is any substantial evidence.

Best wishes

John

Perspective on flu vs Covid-19

https://www.livescience.com/new-coronavirus-compare-with-flu.html

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/scientists-compare-novel-coro...

"The new coronavirus outbreak has made headlines in recent weeks, but there's another viral epidemic hitting countries around the world: flu season. But how do these viruses compare, and which one is really more worrisome?

So far, the new coronavirus has led to more than 220,000 illnesses and more than 9,300 deaths worldwide. But that's nothing compared with the flu, also called influenza. In the U.S. alone, the flu has caused an estimated 36 million illnesses, 370,000 hospitalizations and 22,000 deaths this season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

That said, scientists have studied seasonal flu for decades. So, despite the danger of it, we know a lot about flu viruses and what to expect each season. In contrast, very little is known about the new coronavirus and the disease it causes, dubbed COVID-19, because it's so new. This means COVID-19 is something of a wild card in terms of how far it will spread and how many deaths it will cause.The new coronavirus outbreak has made headlines in recent weeks, but there's another viral epidemic hitting countries around the world: flu season. But how do these viruses compare, and which one is really more worrisome?"