Shielding list to add extra people

growstuff

Employers must make arrangements if possible for anybody who is being shielded, which might mean that they can work at home if possible. Their employment rights are protected. If arrangements can't be made, they have the right to redundancy pay. They also have the right to support with having medication and essential groceries delivered.

Like you Dorsetcupcake, I'm diabetic and I have also had a heart attack and am considered "high risk" but not "critically vulnerable", which in practice meant I had no support at all. Fortunately, I didn't have to work outside the home and am not sure what I would have done. I've had all my shopping delivered for a year (I haven't been inside a shop) but I couldn't get medication delivered because my GP isn't signed up to the service Boots and the other online pharmacies use. My local pharmacy wouldn't deliver because I wasn't clinically vulnerable, which has meant that I've had to leave home to collect prescription meds.

I think it also means that some people will be vaccinated sooner than they would have been (if they don't already belong to one of the priority groups).

Have you considered using an organisation such as Pharmacy4U? I'm not especially vulnerable in the current sense of the word, but have had my meds delivered for a couple of years now. They organise the prescript ion, and deliver to your door. You don't need to go out.

Iam I just want to be able to meet up with them outside in a park or in our garden. I’ve only physically seen them on the doorstep when dropping off Christmas / birthday presents. The only people I’ve touched/ have touched me now for 11 months have been DH, the phlebotomist, hairdresser ( one August visit) the dentist (ditto) and the vaccinator last week .<sigh>

I hope they don't Iam64. I wish I had more confidence that the government would do the right thing.

I was miffed (not really) that I didn't receive a personal email/letter/text from Matt Hancock. I've just done the QCovid risk assessment tool and it would appear my risk score is 88 where the highest risk is 100. I've lost points (ie considered less at risk) because I'm female, not overweight and live in a wealthy area.

My first jab is booked for next week, but I'm going to carry on as I have been. I'm looking forward for hairdressers to re-open because I haven't had my hair cut for over a year and it's half way down my back.

I had another shielding email this morning.
I don’t get the impression things are going to open up any time soon growstuff.
I haven’t hugged my close family for a year. I’m not sure I can continue only seeing my young grandchildren outdoors. I’m cautious and compliant, so if I’m on the edge of taking the risk of having them in my well ventilated kitchen, I expect I’m far from alone

I only hope this isn't the prelude to opening up too early - yet again! - so transmission runs rife amongst the population, while those at the highest risk are allegedly protected. Long Covid deniers seem to be particularly vocal at the moment.

I have a horrid feeling, but hope I'm wrong.

I’ve just got my new shielding email but for me it is more of an extension letter as I was classed as ECV last year. My first shielding letter was quite a shock! The ECV letter is needed for my employer. I think the NHS have become aware of factors other than age and health that can make people more likely to be more adversely affected by Covid infection, such as ethnicity being male and being morbidly obese, and have assessed staff according to this- giving staff members a ‘ Covid age’ ( most unflattering!) I presume similar ideas have now been applied to the general population. It is right that emerging evidence is taken into account, when deciding policy.
I presume the hope to vaccinate this new group of under 70 ECV SAP!

I watched an interview tonight, which explained how the changes came about.

The new model was developed following work by Oxford University which looked at the characteristics of people who died in the first wave to better understand risk.
Data was also collected from people who were hospitalised with Covid.
This calculation includes things such as ethnicity, deprivation (by postcode) and weight to work out a person's risk of becoming seriously ill if they were to catch Covid.
It also looked at age, underlying health issues and prescribed medications.

It can only be a good think that more people are now included. We were dealing with an unknown, so obviously more has been learned as time has gone on.

I have also just received an email from Matt Hancock and to be quite honest I was very surprised to receive it. I have well controlled the 2 diabetes. The email has definitely come too late as I have already had Covid, fortunately very mildly, but I had a positive test and I have also had my first vaccine.

I have been going shopping once a week and been to my chemist both of which I am now supposed to not do. I feel angry that it has taken a year to be told that I am CEV.

I had a very long email from Matt Hancock this pm to say I should be shielding. It gave me quite a shock, after all this time.

Well, that's the first time I've ever been accused of optimism.

MissAdventure, it's a bit optimistic to think the end's in sight, isn't it? It's still a world pandemic - so there's always the possibility of new variants threatening our safety, however careful we are.

I think it's good that the shielding list is updated as more information comes to light, don't you? Every life saved is precious.

Not illogical just invisible - the context is the lack of disabled voices in the provision of services at policy level - nothing to do with the pandemic actually - the pandemic has just exposed it as it has so many fault lines.

Thanks Suziewoozie, I hadn't realised that there were specific external protections involved. I also hadn't realised that the groups you mention weren't originally included. It seemed only logical to me that the groups they are now including would have been automatically included in the beginning. But so much of the management of this has been illogical I don't know why I'm surprised!

As Iam said some of these issues have been known for a while but disabled people and especially those in care have been ‘invisible to the JCVI as were family home Carers (ie not paid) This was put right recently but it begs the question of those voices not heard initially

The lack of shielding status for employed people was a real issue as some said. Also there were some younger people -eg with learning disabilities who has been ‘forgotten’, They were going to have to wait until their age group was reached and now they will be vaccinated sooner. LD and disabled proles charities have been pressing for this for a while now and finally it’s happening. There’s a poster on another thread who has posted about this re her adult daughter.

I’m retired, CEV which I suspect leads to a bit of Thinking On

Ah, thank you - I knew I had to be missing something! ( Half my brain cells by the look of it...).

I work for myself from home and I'm CEV. I suppose it's made me a bit short sighted regarding this issue.

Yes, I think so.
The more people who are protected, the better.

I’m pleased to see that as knowledge of this virus is accumulated, the list of people who are advised to shield has reflected that.
The key is that the shielding letter gives employees some protection. A young friend who is a key worker at our local hospital has been commenting on evidence about the impact of obesity for some time now. Areas of high deprivation have more of the newly identified shielding groups. It’s been obvious for a while.

Advances in the understanding of this horrible virus are being made all the time. I believe type 2 diabetics are more at risk than type 1, because they are more likely to be obese, although obviously not in all cases. Obesity is a strong factor with the extra burden on all the body’s organs but they believe there is something else involved has yet to be pinpointed. Ethnicity is another factor which is still being investigated. Our wonderful scientists are really trying to work out exactly what is going on when this virus attacks and they are making progress. We should all be as careful as we possibly can in the meantime.

The more that is known about the virus, how it works and what medications help with recovery and prevent fatalities help the clinicians and microbiologists manage it.

More people who are deemed as clinically vulnerable are being identified and added to the shielding list can only be a good thing surely?

Not everybody has had the choice to shield.
If you're employed and not in possession of a shielding letter, then you'd not be able to have that choice.

NellG

But... they all, we all, have had the choice to shield from day one. No one has been forced not to stay home and protect themselves.

I can't see how it is a disgrace or a scandal tbh. In what way is it sooziewoozie? Maybe I'm missing something.

People who need to earn money haven't had the choice to shield. Now they will have that choice because employment rights will be protected.

Rather than "being asked to shield" (as though it's an imposition), I think it should be reframed as "being given the opportunity to be protected".

Employers must make arrangements if possible for anybody who is being shielded, which might mean that they can work at home if possible. Their employment rights are protected. If arrangements can't be made, they have the right to redundancy pay. They also have the right to support with having medication and essential groceries delivered.

Like you Dorsetcupcake, I'm diabetic and I have also had a heart attack and am considered "high risk" but not "critically vulnerable", which in practice meant I had no support at all. Fortunately, I didn't have to work outside the home and am not sure what I would have done. I've had all my shopping delivered for a year (I haven't been inside a shop) but I couldn't get medication delivered because my GP isn't signed up to the service Boots and the other online pharmacies use. My local pharmacy wouldn't deliver because I wasn't clinically vulnerable, which has meant that I've had to leave home to collect prescription meds.

I think it also means that some people will be vaccinated sooner than they would have been (if they don't already belong to one of the priority groups).