We know from worldwide data that the majority of people (~80%) with covid-19 will either have no symptoms at all or will have a mild illness. We do know however that some health conditions increase the risk of becoming significantly unwell if you become infected. Both the UK and the Welsh Assembly Governments have put a shielding process in place to protect those patients at highest risk.
The Government has identified and written to those at highest risk and all of those “shielding” letters should now have arrived. For our surgery of about 4,800 patients it’s about 200 patients. Many of you have been surprised not to have received a letter and have contacted us.
The highest risk group is the smallest and includes those of our patients who, for example, have had organ transplants and have suppressed immune systems, cancers or cancer treatments which significantly weaken the immune system, severe lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis, nerve or brain diseases which affects the ability to breathe and a very small group of patients with the most severe asthma, COPD and heart disease. This is the shielding group and it’s essential that we protect them. Government guidance is at Guidance on shielding and protecting people defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable from coronavirus (COVID-19).
If you haven’t received a letter and think you should have, please read the Government definition of “What do we mean by extremely vulnerable?” and our Shielding Group Patients notes may help but are, primarily for our reference. If you think you may have been missed, please let us know.
The next group, the high but not highest risk group, is easier – it’s everyone for whom a “flu jab” is normally recommended either because of age or because of an underlying health condition. For this group, “enhanced social isolation” rather than strict shielding is recommended. The Government advice is social distancing rather than shielding and their guidance is at Coronavirus social distancing guidance.
The final group is everyone else and the guidance is currently the same as for those in the high risk group i.e. Coronavirus outbreak FAQs: what you can and can’t do.
