Any medical folk out there - help please?

[snowwhat]

I have Sjögren's syndrome, an autoimmune condition, and last year received an invite to get my Autumn booster jab. Booked onto for a jab this year and was turned away at the clinic as they said I needed to receive a direct referral from my doctor. Can anyone medical advise - surely if I had the jab last year, I should get it again this year?

TLDR: Are auto-immune conditions considered eligible for the covid booster vaccine?

It depends what meds you're on or treatment you're having.

There's a list ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2024/08/02/whos-eligible-for-the-2024-covid-19-vaccine-or-autumn-booster/

Also

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66e7fbf624c4f1826d81bb32/Greenbook-chapter-14a-20240916.pdf

Thanks for the list. I've had a look through, but not every auto-immune condition means you're on treatment for it...

It was the same last year- you needed to be having treatment for an autoimmune condition such as azathioprene or methotrexate etc.

I wonder if your GP made an error with the coding added to your records which meant you were invited for a jab?

I know ours were going through and making sure that people were correctly coded as being on various meds also entitles you to a pneumonia jab and age dependent shingles one

Are you on steroids? I think that can make you eligible. I ask because my mum was on steroids for Sjoergren’s.

Ds (who is vulnerable, but not very, if that makes sense) has had his invite but my friend who is vulnerable due to age and MS and other conditions hadn't. She's been told she has to wait, and it's being sent out in a random order.

Seems silly to me, but I suspect you'll get one, but not now.

Thanks everyone for the support - it's so confusing... I'm waiting to hear back, but I am considering paying for a private jab - has anyone done this? The one at Boots is looking pretty pricey!!

The silly thing is that I suspect I have developed Sjögren's as a result of having had Covid for the first time and it was a very bad case. I'd been fit and fine before, but felt really run down for months afterwards and after multiple blood tests and trips to the doctor and hospital, I was diagnosed with Sjögren's. The more research I do, the more I realise that there are many people out there who have been diagnosed with an autoimmune condition (lupus, RA, Sjögren's) after having caught covid and had it badly.

I know it's a lottery as to how our individual bodies will react to the virus, but surely there's logic/a holistic benefit for the health service in trying to protect as many people as possible by preventing all the awful side effects that come from having had covid by vaccinating them as well as those who are classified as vulnerable?

as an asthmatic i have been invited for flu jab
i think covid jabs are for over 70s - i have just checked - it is for over 65s

I'm not, but that's interesting as I was told by my rheumatologist that there is no 'medicine' for it as it's just a case of treating/managing the specific symptoms as they affect you. Mine flare up and joint pain is a nightmare atm for me but am using painkillers! Hope your mum is ok xx

looks like it may be rolled out later op

I wouldn't be eligible age-wise - I suspect I might have to pay for a private jab, but resent it as I really think I ought to be getting it with the roll-out!!

I was just reading an article about worries over the vaccine take up in England:

While bookings for the NHS autumn Covid booster jabs opened this week, Altmann said they should be offered more widely, together with increased use of lateral flow testing to avoid the spread of Covid.

Williams added that it was strange that more had not been done to clean indoor air and improve ventilation in public spaces including schools.

But while he backed offering boosters more widely, he also raised concerns: “I worry that again this autumn we will see a relatively low uptake of the booster among priority groups, including younger adults with a compromised immune system.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/26/covid-on-the-rise-as-experts-say-england-has-capitulated-to-the-virus