Living on Plague Island

The vast majority of the population of the UK have had at least one confirmed or suspected Covid infection but some people, including myself and my husband have never had Covid and many people have only had it once. In some cases this will be down to luck, or to some little understood aspect of the underlying immune system which is thought to be protecting a percentage of the population. However, in most cases not having had Covid is not an accident and is explained by the mitigation measures which my household, and many people I know across the clinically vulnerable community, practice. 

This blog, which updates a previous post on this website discusses these measures and opportunities that individuals can take drawing on my own experience of how we deploy mitigating measures often against a hostile world that wants to move on from Covid-19. Of course the fact that Covid Infections are a problem is, in the main, because governments and authorities have allowed the virus to rip by failing to implement appropriate measures to combat an airborne virus and have failed to inform the public about how to avoid catching the virus. But wider questions about what governments and authorities should be doing are explored in other blogs on this website.

The following measures are discussed in turn:

1. Vaccination
2. Assessing risk
3. Avoiding high risk situations
4. Testing
5. Clean air/Ventilation/filtering
6. Masks
7. Nose sprays and mouthwashes
8. Keeping well
9. Being resilient

I should stress from the outset that we cannot say how effective these measures are vis a vis each other because we deploy them in combination. This is known as the Swiss cheese model which stresses that no single mitigation measure will be 100% effective, but used in combination they offer a high degree of protection as illustrated in the diagram at the start of this blog.

1. Vaccination

Since late 2020 vaccination against Covid -19 has been an option. All of the adult population in the UK were offered the chance of vaccination from late 2020 – spring 2021 and again in the Autumn of 2021.

However, eligibility criteria have become narrower and narrower since then to the extent that by Autumn 2025 it is proposed that only the over 75’s, those in care homes for the elderly and those who comply with the green book definition of being immunosuppressed will be offered a free boost.

Whilst private vaccines have been available from Boots, PharmaDoctor and some independent pharmacies since Spring 2024 the cost is somewhere in the region of £100 per dose which is beyond the pockets of many clinically vulnerable households. For a discussion of the issues see a recent blog post from me.

Many argue that vaccines have been shown to be effective in reducing the chance of getting infected, though their effectiveness is thought to be declining over time reflecting the pace at which the virus is mutating and learning to dodge people’s existing immunity. The key benefit of getting vaccinated is that, if you mount a good response, vaccination is likely to reduce the chance of you falling seriously ill or dying. There is also evidence that being vaccinated reduces the chance of contracting Long Covid, though estimates of the extent of protection vary widely, a recent robust study estimated that protection was about 52%.

A key problem is vaccines are not suitable for everyone – some people have underlying medical conditions or allergies which would make it dangerous to get vaccinated with the mRNA vaccines which currently enjoy a monopoly position in the UK. Another key problem is that not everyone mounts a response and produces anti bodies in response to vaccines (it is estimated that 2% don’t). This is a key problem for many clinically vulnerable families, including my own as a member of my family. It is unclear what this means. Most practitioners take the view that this group are  significantly more at risk from serious complications but we do not know how far other factors kick in to provide some protection.

 However, this does not mean clinically vulnerable  people should not get vaccinated. The vaccines may be offering some protection in ways that are not fully understood. It is also estimated that for clinically vulnerable people the risks of developing long Covid are many times greater than for fit and healthy people so anything that might provide protection is worth having. 

Despite the fact that many clinically vulnerable people cannot have or do not respond to vaccination and the government has failed to put any significant effort or resources into developing and purchasing therapeutic drugs as so eloquently stated by the chair of the Vaccine Task Force, Dame Kate Bingham at a Covid Inquiry hearing earlier this year. This means that many clinically vulnerable people are in as much danger of becoming seriously ill as they were in 2020.

 It is therefore clear from this discussion that vaccination on its own is not enough if we want to live in a society that protects healthcare services from year round pressures from Covid, reduce the damage to the economy and the labour market, reduce the number of people suffering the misery of Long Covid and live in an inclusive society that seeks to protect clinically vulnerable people.

The rest of this blog focuses on methods other than vaccination that we rely on.

2. Assessing Risk

Many of us have built up a good almost intuitive understanding of how to assess whether a situation is  risky and what mitigations need to be in place, but this needs to be based on an up to date understanding of the basic science of COVID-19. 

i. Data

 In order to inform our assessments many of us in the UK were until 2023 making judgements based on the level of infection at any particular point in time. However, since the dismantling of more or less all data on the level of covid infections, including the ONS infection survey, this is no longer possible.

Nevertheless, many people including myself are proactive trying to piece together a picture of what is happening based on imperfect hospital data (being cutback all the time) and the international situation. See for example my blog of May 2025.

ii. CO2 monitors 

Levels of CO2 in indoor spaces is a good proxy for assessing the level of respective risk of catching Covid-19. This is illustrated simply in the following table. We can see that the chances of catching Covid in a well ventilated setting where the CO2 level is lower than 800 will be far lower than where CO2 levels are high.

This is also explained in a recent lecture by Dr Nancy Malik – see the video clip below.

Many countries in the Far East display the level of CO2 in buildings – this would be so helpful to clinically vulnerable people and their families but this rarely happens in the UK. See the following photo from a multi screen cinema in Japan for example.

Given that there is next to no information provision about the safety of buildings we and many others also use a personal CO2 monitor in order to guide our behaviours. There are a variety of monitors on the market ranging in price from well under £50 to £199 and upwards. We initially bought a cheap model but we quickly began to doubt its accuracy. It also required recharging every 12 hours and was bulky to carry around. We subsequently invested in an SAF Aranet 4 air quality monitor for £199. This seems far more responsive to changing conditions, is small and easy to transport around and it is claimed that the batteries last for 4 years.

Air quality is meant to be 400 ppm of CO2 outdoors and we aim to keep the air inside the house at below 700. If it goes above 900 we open a door or window. The companion app can also provide historical data which enables you to understand what is driving a high CO2 level and address it. The following illustrates the readings in our lounge yesterday (a Sunday) when we had a small window open all day.

3. Avoiding High Risk situations

Many people, including the clinically vulnerable, deploy a range of behavioural methods in order to avoid or lower the risk of coming into contact with the virus in the first place, based on our assessment of the risk. 

My household has extensive experience of such measures which include the following. This may seem excessive if you are not clinically vulnerable, but remember – we have never had Covid – we live busy, happy, healthy lives and my partner has not suffered any worsening in his underlying medical conditions which would almost certainly be the case had he had Covid-19. If you wish to avoid further Covid infections it is important to pay attention to these measures.

• avoiding indoor gatherings and do contacts, classes, talks etc on line, instead. This also includes working from home. We make extensive use of zoom and similar, I am even learning French via an on-line class; 
• avoiding unnecessary face to face appointments such as medical appointments or having work people in the house or do it by telephone. When we do have people in the house to do necessary services or repairs we often wear masks, have a HEPA on and leave the door open, or keep a social distance and let the workmen get on with it;  
• Avoiding gatherings altogether if you consider the people you are meeting are inflexible eg refuse to eat outdoors, and do not respect your need to stay safe (these people are really not worth knowing) or it is not possible in other ways;
• Social distancing, both indoors and outdoors plus use a HEPA filter indoors as well as opening the windows (see section on clean air below);
• Doing things first thing in the morning when the viral load in the air will be lower eg. Going to the garden centre early, seeking out the first dental appointment of the day, traveling on public transport at non peak times.
• challenging health and other providers, including schools about their safety measures – this is a fraught issue which many people struggle with, particularly since the withdrawal of the requirement to wear a mask in healthcare and the attitudes of some healthcare professionals. Private bodies such as opticians should be easier to deal with. I always phone up beforehand to check safety arrangements, including ventilation and willingness to wear a mask. And if you meet with an uncooperative attitude take your business elsewhere – I have – for example I refuse to return to my former opticians having found a better one who is more than happy to accommodate our needs. There are groups on social media that have extensive experience of navigating these issues.
• testing before key events and requiring others to test – but don’t necessarily trust the results of one LFT as  it is possible that they may be becoming less accurate at detecting new variants. See next section on testing.
• seeking out a Covid safe mobile hairdresser or other business person depending on your needs. I have been using a mobile hairdresser called Angela since August 2020. She deploys a range of mitigation measures set out in the following video which is helpful in setting out best practice.

4. Testing

Testing before meeting up with others, and changing your behaviour as a result of the test, is a potentially important way of dampening the spread of Covid-19 and protecting the vulnerable.

However, the days when free tests were available to all are long gone. A small number of people are entitled to free NHS lateral flow tests (LFT’s) including my household member, as he is on the list of people eligible for antivirals.

The problem is that LFT’s seem to be becoming less and less effective and their effectiveness against different variants differs. The key problem is false negatives – but if you get a positive test it is likely to mean you have Covid. Repeating the test 3 times should provide more accuracy as long as the test is done correctly. Wizzing a probe gently round the nose several times is unlikely to produce an accurate result. Despite what it says on the label I always try to swab the throat, and certainly the saliva and then deep into the nose.

There are also portable machines that do PCR tests and produce circa 99% accuracy within half and hour. These are not cheap. I bought the highly rated Plus Life mini dock from Germany for nearly £250 – tests are an extra £60+ for 10. If you are buying from within the UK you will also need to pay import duties thanks to Brexit. I was stung for £77 but I know people who have ‘only’ had to pay circa £50. The UK face mask store now also stock Plus life but the costs tend to work out higher than the German route, including the import costs.

Many people I know have one of these and consider it a game changer. For example, you can ask guests to test on arrival, up to 4 people can use the same test to save money (but this won’t tell you exactly who is positive) and after 30 minutes or so you can then safely proceed in the knowledge that it is almost certain that no one has Covid-19. You can also buy tests that will tell you whether you have flu, RSV as well as Covid-19 but I have not purchased these as flu tends to be confined to a few weeks of the year.

5. Clean Air – ventilation, filtration

Covid-19  is airborne and transmits like aerosols and compared to other types of virus can hang in the air, rather like cigarette smoke, for much longer periods – sometimes hours if there is no ventilation.  Good ventilation is therefore a very important weapon against Covid, used in conjunction with other measures, if possible.  See the following video clip from the Nancy Malik lecture referenced above which explains that Covid-19 is airborne and why ventilation is so critically important.

It is not always possible to create good ventilation naturally due, for example, to pollution outside, windows that don’t open, buildings with enclosed spaces, not enough air movement, on forms of transport etc. Other mechanical methods of ventilation and air filtration are therefore important and some clued up organisations have this and find that it pays dividends in health and safety terms. Please note that standard air conditioning on its own is unlikely to be effective in preventing you from getting ill.

Following on from this example, the fact that people in the UK are not rising up and demanding clean air in buildings such as hospitals and schools is a puzzle, particularly when you consider that the UK Houses of Parliament are one of the few public buildings with an air filtration system. And drawing on common practice in some Far Eastern countries, why people don’t refuse to book venues or attend events where organisers can’t be bothered to display their CO2 levels and measures to make buildings safe is again a puzzle.

So, what can individual households do? The cheapest thing you can do is open windows and doors to get a draft through when there is anyone in the house or flat. We do this even when the temperature is minus 10 degrees outside – you just need to put a coat or a thick jumper on!  

It is also a good idea to buy a HEPA filter strong enough to help to clean the air in a room. HEPAs are designed to remove particles from the air though claims made by some manufacturers about removing Covid particles completely may be exaggerated, there is research evidence to suggest they work. Many scientists assess them as being effective. They also have several other benefits such as reducing pollen and dust. 

Following the King’s cancer diagnosis it is clear that the palace recognise the benefits of a HEPA filter even though they may not be well informed about the relative effectiveness of different models. The model on display in the following photograph will be familiar to many people as the most expensive and also least effective model according to Which!

There are a variety of models on the market starting from about £200. We have two Phillips machines which we bought 4 years ago due to major building works next door. We always have them on when there are any visitors in the house regardless of whether the windows are also open. It is important to read the manufacturers instructions about how to set them up and where to place them. 

A US alternative invented by a 12 year old and which has been proven to work is discussed here.

But what about when you are out and about?  I recommend a small portable HEPA filter. These filters do not clean the entire room and are only effective if you hold them about one meter or so away from you.

We have a Smart Air QT3 purifier (left) which is non intrusive and looks like a portable radio and costs less than £50. We also have a more expensive Air Fanta 4 light personal device (right) which is more bulky but it is likely to be slightly more effective . Both of these are suitable for taking to medical appointments, travelling on public transport and attending all kinds of venues and gatherings with. For information and advice on taking full sized and portable HEPAs into hospitals please see my blog on HEPA filters in healthcare.

We have also very recently purchased the relatively new Air Fanta mini HEPA filter (see photo below). This is far smaller and needs to be held very close to the mouth and nose. Nevertheless, it is ideal for short public transport trips, trips to the pharmacy and to some venues eg Wimbledon tennis, where you would be unlikely to have success getting the larger portables through security.

Its key advantage is it is highly portable and looks like a cooling fan and is therefore less likely to prove controversial with other people compared to a more obvious virus control device.

AirFanta also plan to launch a hands free wearable device in the near future – see photo below. Whilst this will have advantages in certain situations eg the dentists the key drawback is that it is not as discrete as the mini (see above).

Essentially, they generate ions which attach to pollutants or viruses in the air, giving them a static charge and cause them to drop to the ground. There is no evidence on their effectiveness against Covid-19 as opposed to viruses that transmit via larger droplets. I suspect they are of little use, nevertheless, we have Air tamers and similar (I have an Air Vida necklace) which we wear at the dentists.

The other method of cleaning the air which we use in conjunction with other methods is through Ultra Violet C filtration. There are safe, effective products on the market which need to be installed – see for example, a promotional video from Phillips.

We do not have this type of advanced equipment which will hopefully become more common, acceptable in terms of safety and cheaper, in years to come.

We have a small Phillips machine that cleans the air in a room in about 30 minutes. These market for about £80 in the UK. The snag is that you cannot be in the room with them switched on because of potential damage to the eyes – if a person or a pet walk in when on it automatically shuts down.

Nevertheless, we find it useful to use in conjunction with a HEPA filters and other methods discussed in this blog. We simply plug it in before visitors arrive and then again after they have gone in order to clean the air for our own benefit.

There are also small, portable, but again expensive products on the market in the US which you can have switched on when you are present. The most popular seems to be the Nukit Torch Far UVC light which markets at about $350 for 4. The drawback is that they are only useful it people hold them quite close to themselves. Nevertheless, people find them useful if they are going to hospital appointments for chemotherapy, for example, where they need to sit for a long period in what may be an unclean environment.

6. Masks

Despite claims that they do not work, there is conclusive evidence that wearing the right kind of mask can offer very substantial protection. However, be warned, there is a great deal of misinformation around.

One of the most damaging claims which received extensive coverage in the media is the Cochrane review co-ordinated by Tom Jefferson. Jefferson happens to work with the Brownstone Institute which has always been an extremely anti-mask, anti-vaxx right wing think tank”.  This was extensively reported that this study shows that face masks don’t work to the extent that many people now regard this as ‘common knowledge’. This is highly misleading as explained by the editor in chief of the Cochrane library who concludes that given the limitations in the primary evidence, ‘the review is not able to address the question of whether mask-wearing itself reduces people’s risk of contracting or spreading respiratory viruses.’ This review and its flaws is discussed further in my previous blog on Avoiding Covid.

The definitive evidence on the effectiveness of masks from Professor Trisha Greenhalgh was published in May 2024 and is discussed in my blog on the subject. This meta analysis demonstrates that good quality masks do work in real world settings – they need to be made of high filtration material, well fitted and the wearer needs to wear them.

Trisha concludes that the focus now needs to be on getting medical professionals, policy makers and the public to understand the benefits of good quality masks and to work towards helping people find masks that fit and are comfortable for them, and undertake further research to improve design.

I would add that we need to work to undo all the damage done by misinformation, this includes the false believe that wearing a mask only protects others, not the wearer. We also need to work to overcome the scale and type of mask abuse faced by those who wear masks face as discussed in my blog on mask abuse.

What in practical terms is a good quality mask?

Nancy Malek sums this up perfectly in the following video clip.

In sum, simple cloth masks or baggy blues type surgical masks may have been appropriate in 2020 when no other types of masks were available, but the evidence suggests that a minimum of FFP2 masks (sometimes called N95s readily available and relatively cheap), or even better FFP3, should be the minimum.  Also, it is important to be aware that non valved masks are best because they help protect others around you as well as you (a valved mask  is only of benefit to you). 

There is also strong evidence that masks that go all the way around your head such as the widely available 3M Aura are more effective than an ear loop mask. They are certainly more likely to pass a fit test. I personally prefer the Netherlands manufactured Handanhy variant of this (bottom mask in photo) because I feel it gives me a better fit but they are more expensive. However, the face mask store now stocks these which has made them cheaper and easier to buy.

 Of course the ideal way to know how much protection you are getting from your mask is to do a fit test. However, fit testing kits are very expensive and rather complicated to carry out . I have not fit test in part because the type of mask I wear depends on the context and length of time I am going to be exposed. in reality I tend to avoid high risk settings for lengthy periods. If I am going to the dentists and will need to slip my mask on and off or if I am popping into a shop briefly, for example, or if I am seeing my mobile hairdresser I tend to wear a FFP2 ear loop mask since one that goes round the head is clearly going to impede her work. However, if I go on a train/bus journey or accompany my husband to a medical appointment I tend to wear a wrap round the head FFP3 Handanhy. 

In sum, FFP2 masks will be suitable for many situations outside of healthcare. These are widely used in other countries and where the minimum standard of protection when face masks were mandated on public transport in Germany, for example. This is not surprising given the strong evidence that they are many times more effective than a simple surgical mask or cloth mask. I tend to buy brands including Opharm and Rosimask (photo on the left) directly from the Face Mask store. They come in a variety of colours. I also have a Cambridge FFP2 mask which is very comfortable (photo on the right).

You can also make adjustments to make your FFP2 a safer snug fit by ensuring the metal strip at the top is pressed into place, and by using simple body tape (ladies will be familiar with this) which sticks it to the face or adjusters that you secure to the loops of the mask and run round the back of the head to secure (see photo on the right).

Some people buy masks that you can adjust or strapless masks which it is argued are more suitable for hairdressing appointments (see photo). The Readimask Strapless is now available in the UK via the Facemask store. I have one of these but have never worn it. I have even heard of people folding them so they cover the nose during dental appointments. This obviously reduces their effectiveness as the virus often enters via the mouth. Also, I do like to breathe as effectively as possible during dental work and prefer to keep safe by my dentist operating other mitigation measures such as ventilation and via the wearing of good masks by all staff.

All of the masks that I have discussed so far contain metal. This is a problem if you are going for certain kinds of medical scans, particularly MRI scans where you are asked to remove all metal. Firstly please bear in mind that ventilation and air filtration tends to be very good around MRI machines. If you want to mask as well Easimask make a FFP3 moulded mask which is metal free and these are available from the Face Mask Store. However, please think about whether you can stand wearing a mask during a procedure which many, including myself, find claustrophobic.

Before moving on from the subject of masks I need to briefly mention nose plugs. These a small plugs that you place up your nose – see photo on the left. You need to insert them carefully  and obviously dispose of them carefully and wash your hand afterwards.

They are meant to catch the virus before it reaches up into your nose but trials have demonstrated that they are, at best, 60% effective. Nevertheless some people take the view that they are better than nothing for situations where you can’t wear a mask (eg. The dentists) or where some would feel uncomfortable wearing one eg weddings.

Personally I find them uncomfortable as they make my nostrils feel very full and I do not recommend them.

The other type of barrier method is visors ie a plastic shield that covers the face. I don not know anyone who recommends them as the sole means of protection (except my former optician!), given that Covid is airborne and can creep in underneath the visor. Indeed, they have been likened to a chocolate fire guard!

7. Nose sprays and mouthwashes

We deploy both of these methods but particularly nose sprays in combination with other measures, referring back to the Swiss cheese model. There is little to no robust evidence on their effectiveness but many people swear by them. 

There are a variety of nasal sprays on the market which fall into one of two types:

• sprays containing nitric oxide that claim to kill the Covid-19 virus whilst it is in the nostril and prevent infection entering your body through the nasal passage. The best known brand is Enovid which is not available in the UK but can be obtained quickly and easily, if expensively, from a pharmacy in Israel. I have used it in the past but unfortunately it gives me a headache. However, many people use it regularly and have great confidence in it.
• The second type of spray trade under a variety of labels including Boots Dual defence, and Vicks First defence which do not make hefty claims about killing Covid but many people claim they can shorten the duration of illness or stop it developing. Another type of spray – NoriZite does make claims that it ‘coats the nasal cavity and creates a fast, long-lasting barrier against airborne virus particles including Covid-19’. Similar sprays include Viralise and BioSURE. I am sceptical about these hefty claims but these are my favourite sprays as they do not lead to side effects for me. However, I would never use them as the only method of defence. 

As far as mouthwashes are concerned, those marked ‘CPC protect’ work on the theory that they de-activate any Covid-19 infection present in the human saliva. As far as I am aware they have not been tested in real life conditions but I tend to use it, particularly when going to the dentists, in combination with other measures. It has no side effects for me, is relatively cheap, I need to use a mouthwash and I take the view that anything is worth a try. Again I would never use as a sole method of protection.

8. Keeping Well

It may sound obvious, but a key way to avoid catching covid is to ensure your immune system is functioning as well as it can be in order to withstand the levels of Covid that tend to be in circulation all year round.

People will have their own methods of keeping well and it is not appropriate to be prescriptive here. Obvious things include eating as well as you can, getting enough sleep and rest, and tackling any underlying conditions that could drag your immune system down.

It is also appropriate to take particular care in winter and supplement your diet with over the counter products aimed to boost your immune system, multi vitamins, echinacea or products like Propolis Bee Health liquid if you are beginning to feel unwell.

Also keep connected including telephone calls, on-line meetings and socially distanced meetings. This is challenging for those of us trying to avoid catching the virus. Many of us have radically changed our social circle to include like minded people who are trying to keep safe. This is fine – there is nothing wrong with letting people who do not respect your need to stay safe fall by the wayside.

It is also important to do things that you enjoy doing as often as possible. For me it is: visiting the seaside; going on Covid safe holidays to rented cottages; getting out into the natural world even it it is just the local park or the garden; keeping the mind active by reading and doing voluntary work on-line; going to watch live sports outdoors including Wimbledon tennis, learning new skills; hobbies including painting and knitting (not willing to share my efforts here!). The potential list is endless and it does not need to be expensive.

9. Building Resilience

I am fully aware that behaviours such as practicing social distancing, wearing a mask, carrying a personal HEPA, saying no to meeting in indoor settings can attract abuse from others and is difficult for people, particularly those who are not naturally assertive or who are ill.

My impression is that these kinds of behaviours have become more common as the government, its agencies and most of the media are trying to airbrush anything to do with Covid under the carpet and pretend that everything is back to normal. See my post on mask abuse and discrimination.

Incidents I have personally witnessed or heard others talk about range from sheer rudeness in the street, laughing and pointing in the supermarket, really aggressive coughing at a person wearing a mask or even spitting or pulling the mask. There are also a range of more subtle indications of disapproval particularly around mask wearing such as shaking of heads and tutting etc.

It also seems that polite refusals to meet up can be met by ‘gaslighting’ from others, including family members and so called ‘friends’. Common methods include calling people stupid, having blazing arguments, telling them to ‘get a life, making them feel guilty through to very nasty psychological manipulation eg. ‘I am vulnerable as well and I do x,y, & z’.  I have even heard of this happening in general conversation where there is no intention to meet up.

The lack of respect for others and the sheer foulness of all of this is very upsetting for many people, and for many this type of behaviour seems to peak around the holiday periods and christmas time – so take care of yourselves at these times. 

Remember it is for you to judge whether something is safe or not given your own circumstances and preferences. It is completely inappropriate for others to do this judgement for you and I would say that people trying to do this are nearly always exposing their own personal inadequacies or are suffering from serious mental problems to even contemplate it. Moreover, the fact that some people are intent on doing something specific and don’t ask you or listen to you when you make a follow up suggestion (in an appropriate tone) ‘what would be safe for you’ ‘could we meet outdoors’ ‘could we go for a walk and have a picnic’ is a sad fact of this pandemic.

We have no way of knowing how many people who want to be careful have been bullied into taking risks they do not want to take. One hopes that it is not too many but I suspect it is quite high which is very sad given that people are effectively telling other people to place their lives or the lives of others at risk.

There are a variety of ways in which people can train themselves to be more assertive and stand up to bullying and it is closely linked to the discussion in section 8 above on keeping ourselves well. There are also on-line resources and private on-line groups of people who understand and who are happy to provide support – for example, the clinically vulnerable families group can be found on Facebook (private – apply to join) and X Twitter (open to anyone). The key point is not to suffer in silence.

Concluding Comments

I am in the fortunate position of being retired and having enough resources to buy gadgets and vaccine doses to help to protect us.

I am aware that many people are in a worse position and, for example, are forced to go to workplaces without protective measures despite the dangers, have children, and also cannot afford to buy things like HEPA filters. However, please bear in mind that there are measures that can be deployed relatively cheaply such as FFP2 masks, opening windows in houses, flats, cars and vans, offices etc, meeting outside, homemade HEPA’s and similar, and social distancing.

It can also feel overwhelming to many people to think that we may have to carry on like this forever, no matter how much we enjoy our current lives. I think it is important not to assume this will always be the case.

In a context where the World Health Organisation has, in August 2024, warned governments that allowing the current high levels of circulation to continue runs a big risk of something more serious emerging, my judgement is that things will eventually improve.

Change could be driven by another sudden shock to the system. Many are warning that another pandemic is on the horizon, in part due to climate change (it’s not if – but when), possibly driven by serious Covid mutations or by bird flu, for example. Whatever, such an event would likely to lead to some serious thinking and cause those in power to recognise what those in the clinically vulnerable on-line community have recognised for years, that ‘you can’t truly live with a dangerous virus by ignoring it‘.

It is hoped that clean air would be at the forefront of people’s minds. If we were to implement clean air across buildings and inform that public, the impacts of any future pandemic based on an airborne virus would be very considerably lower. It is true that this would all require a considerable shift in public attitudes, but it is not impossible that people will stop grasping at comforting lies and seek out the truth.

The other possibility is that science comes to the rescue with cheaper ways of cleaning the air/or an appreciation by policy makers that implementing currently available methods would be cost effective, better masks, better vaccines and treatments. The later is discussed in a piece by Professor Sheena Cruickshank who points to the fact that the UK is lagging behind countries such as India which are at the forefront of developing better vaccines, including nasal vaccines.

But we are where we are at present. I hope this blog is helpful in informing readers how to avoid catching covid at the same time as leading happy, meaningful lives.

Gillian Smith, Updated July 2025