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Diabetics added to the shielding list as of today

T

t1dluke

Member
Messages
17
Hi all,

I follow a guy called Partha Kar on twitter, he is the National Specialty Advisor in Diabetes for NHS England. He has confirmed on twitter today that some diabetics are now in the shielding group and will be contacted about shielding.

As you can imagine there are already inconsistencies regarding who has been asked to shield and who hasn't. On twitter, I've seen an ICU nurse that had gestational diabetes 2 years ago with no complications or other health problems has been asked to shield. This seems to be a common theme with multiple people querying why people who had gestational diabetes are being asked to shield.

On the other hand I've seen people complaining that they have older family members with type 1 diabetes and complications who have not received a letter. This doesn't surprise me at all.

This comes after a team at oxford integrated the data collected from a publication from NHS England in May 2020 regarding diabetes and covid into a model called 'qcovid risk calculator'.

I find it laughable that it took this long to realise that diabetics are clearly relatively more vulnerable than the other moderate risk category diseases with diabetes being one of the top comorbidities in patients that died in hospital due to covid. But then I remember that we live in the UK, a country that is notoriously reactive rather than proactive.

Why put us on the list at all at this point?
 

Reactive rather than proactive is right! A lot of us too have quit jobs to try and protect ourselves as much as possible without any support or advice from the government whatsoever, but I've got a thread pages long on that so won't rant here!

Saw a news article on the study re diabetes and risk but was still none the wiser really.
 
Max68 said:
Reactive rather than proactive is right! A lot of us too have quit jobs to try and protect ourselves as much as possible without any support or advice from the government whatsoever, but I've got a thread pages long on that so won't rant here!
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Yes, I read your thread a while ago. I feel your pain. Really feels like this is locking the barn door long after the horse (and probably the rats in the stable too) has bolted.

Do shielders still have to shield after they've had their COVID innoculation?
 
One of our local surgeries (not mine) has put out a list including all diabetics, including controlled by diet. Its very clear.
 
What's frustrating is that this has been known/suggested since around last May. Why the Government didn't just play safe with all at risk groups until proved otherwise is beyond me.
 
This is what the local surgery posted on facebook. ( my surgery is still using quills and slates
COVID VACCINATION UPDATE
We are delighted to let our patients know that we have finished inviting our Group 5 patients (65-69 year olds) for their first COVID vaccination appointment. We will now start to invite our Category 6 patients.
This is a very large cohort with complex eligibility criteria. We will be inviting this group in the coming weeks but this is all dependant on vaccine availability. If you are unable to wait and have got a letter from the NHS to go elsewhere for your vaccination, please feel free to do so.
Below is the criteria for Group 6 as determined by JCVI.
1) Adults aged 16 to 65 years in an at-risk group which includes:
- Chronic respiratory disease (see notes below for asthma)
- Chronic heart disease and vascular disease
- Chronic kidney disease
- Chronic liver disease
- Chronic neurological disease, including epilepsy or severe or profound learning disability.
- Diabetes mellitus (Any diabetes, including diet-controlled diabetes).
- Immunosuppression
- Asplenia or dysfunction of the spleen
- Morbid obesity BMI >40
- Severe mental illness i.e., those with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, or any mental illness that causes severe functional impairment
2) Younger adults in long-stay in-patient, nursing and residential care settings
3) Adult carers: Those who are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person, someone who has a severe mental illness or whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill.
ASTHMA:
Only severe asthmatics are included in Group 6. Severe asthma is defined as those that have had a previous hospital admission for asthma or needed 3 courses of oral steroids in the past 3 months. All other asthmatics will be vaccinated as you become eligible according to your age in the future.
Please bear with us while we work through this group over the coming weeks. Please do not ring the surgery for an appointment unless you have been invited. We will be in touch when it is your turn. As always, we are grateful for your patience and co-operation.
Have a good day and stay safe everyone!
 
Hopeful34 said:
Yes, they still have to shield after both doses of vaccine
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Hmm, my 90 yo T2 dad was looking forward to his second dose of vaccine. I can't honestly see the point of making 10% (or more) of the UK population shield after vaccination....

Surely no need for T2s on no meds because they've put their T2 in remission via diet to shield. Plus if I was a 20 something vaccinated T1 I'd be pretty unhappy to have to shield.
 
I suspect the shielding after a vaccine is down to the mutated variants. I saw an interesting programme on vaccines a couple of months back which sort of makes you wonder now. Firstly it said that vaccines don't just concentrate on the spike protein but other areas of the virus. However the news now says the variants make the vaccines less effective due to the changes in the spike protein. So you think huh, what about those "other" parts of the virus? Then it also stated that mutations that "benefit" the virus can only happen so many times but again it seems to be happening again and again. I suspect confidence in the vaccines at top level isn't as high as they lead us to believe.
 
This is a list of people in group 6 (clinically vulnerable people - i.e people who have underlying health problems, but haven't been told to shield). People who are shielding are in group 4, and are classed as extremely clinically vulnerable.
 
Remember it takes about 3 weeks for the highest levels of immunity to develop after the second vaccine dose.

Yes, as you say a lot of research is going into how effective the vaccines are on the new variants. This will be different for each vaccine too, so it won't necessarily be a case of 'are you vaccinated or not?' but it might be that one vaccine isn't effective against a new variant but all others are (to stress - I'm suggesting a scenario, we don't yet know exactly how effective the existing vaccines are against current variants, and we don't know what other variants might emerge). They're also not sure to what extent the vaccines affect how easily the virus can be transmitted.

I had my updated shielding email which clearly says any shielding advice is advice only, not law. It is therefore your choice whether you shield if you're deemed CEV, but you must still follow the lockdown restrictions.
 
No one HAS to shield.
It is down to every individual’s personal choice (and circumstances).

Also, the reason for people still being told to mask, wash hands, leave 2 metres space and ventilate even though they have been vaccinated is pretty simple - to protect everyone else. This applies even after vaccination, and should apply until we have reached so called ‘herd immunity’.

the vaccines take weeks to boost immunity (min 22 days) and won’t reach max immunity until 3 weeks after the second jab.

One vaccine has been shown to reduce transmissibility by about 2/3rds (old variants). The info isn’t out on the others (on transmissibility).

Most of the vaccines are reducing symptomatic cases by 70-90%, massively reducing serious cases and virtually eliminating deaths from covid.

This saves the pressure on healthcare systems, but it means that some vaccinated people will contract and transmit asymptomatically.

Therefore it is important that people continue to act considerately and responsibly after their own vaccines have taken effect, in order to protect others who are still vulnerable.

I suspect the govt is anticipating the possibility of another rise in cases when all the ‘I’m Alright Jack’ people rush out to party, and spread infection as they do so.
 
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becca59 said:
@Brunneria a very important point made -TO PROTECT OTHERS WHO ARE STILL VUNERABLE. This is the bit that people do not seem to grasp.
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Soooooo many people don't get that. Since I got back to walking after my "injury" I literally have had only one other delightful elderly couple move to the side rather than me doing it. Instead I move aside constantly for joggers, who puff their way past rarely thanking you, unless of course I don't hear them coming up behind and it's the same with all others. Never in my life have I crossed the road so much!! It really is with many people a case of "I'm Alright Jack!". In some areas the pandemic has brought out the best in many people but also the very worst in others.
 

Wow, I'm very concerned that the advice this local surgery is giving is inaccurate in regards to asthma! People with severe asthma are actually in group 4 according to the government, and severe asthma is defined on Asthma UK as requiring two three day, or longer, courses of steroids in a 12 month period!

It's potentially very dangerous that they have not only been downgraded two groups, but they aren't even identifying all severe asthmatics!

Sorry I know it's not diabetes related, but I thought as a severe asthmatic, as well as a type 1 diabetic, that I would have to point out my concerns!
 
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bulkbiker said:
You do realise that viral transmission outside has never been shown to be a signifiant problem don't you?

Even the fear mongers in chief at the BBC agree..

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-55680305
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Oh of course but better safe than sorry! For instance the article that stated that there hasn't been a single case from the packing of beaches last year. If that's right then why no Glastonbury or sports stadiums allowing limited fans?
 
Max68 said:
Oh of course but better safe than sorry! For instance the article that stated that there hasn't been a single case from the packing of beaches last year. If that's right then why no Glastonbury or sports stadiums allowing limited fans?
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Now that is a very good question.. why indeed.. enjoyment is now banned in the UK.. especially Wales and Scotland.
 
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