Not everyone is out of the woods yet

You’ll start to notice people walking around the shops and town wearing yellow shield badges (available free from the library) in the near future. Not everyone will know what these are, so here’s a quick heads up.

People wearing these would appreciate being given extra space and consideration when you are needing to go near them, especially in enclosed environments, as they are at a high risk of infection from Covid or other pathogens, or are simply uncomfortable with distancing and other restrictions being eased or lifted.

Covid vaccination has been a great step forward, but the badges remind us that there are still some people in the community who are at great risk from picking up infection, for one or several reasons.

At the start of the pandemic, people whose immune system was compromised would have been shielding, which would effectively have meant that they would have had little or no contact with the outside world, as their immune system would have offered no protection from the virus.

Even with the vaccine, people such as cancer patients on chemotherapy may have a poorly functioning immune system, and so still need your help to avoid picking up infections, of which Covid is just one.

We’ll be wearing these in my family, and we won’t be the only ones in Shetland. In the same way that not all disabilities are obvious, not all shielding people look ill.

Please remember that not all of us are out of the woods yet, so your help is very welcome.

Rob Jones
Bressay