Only those patients that meet the government’s new criteria will receive “shielding” letter from NHSE. The criteria have changed since the first wave of shielding so some patients that received a letter earlier in the year may not receive one now. If you haven’t received a letter you DO NOT need to shield but observe strict social distancing advice and adhere to lockdown rules. Due to current clinical demand the doctors are not able to enter into individual discussions regarding who is eligible. Below is the list of conditions that the government consider extremely high risk. If you feel you have been missed by the government please carefully read the criteria and email your query to [email protected] clearly stating how you meet the criteria, a clinician will review your notes in due course then advise if you do fit the criteria.
- solid organ transplant recipients
- those with specific cancers:
- people with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy
- people with lung cancer who are undergoing radical radiotherapy
- people with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment
- people having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer
- people having other targeted cancer treatments that can affect the immune system, such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors
- people who have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs
- those with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- those with rare diseases that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), homozygous sickle cell disease)
- those on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection
- adults with Down’s syndrome
- adults on dialysis or with chronic kidney disease (stage 5)
- women who are pregnant with significant heart disease, congenital or acquired
- other people who have also been classed as clinically extremely vulnerable, based on clinical judgement and an assessment of their needs. GPs and hospital clinicians have been provided with guidance to support these decisions
