To be gutted re vaccine groups and asthma?

[1starwars2]

I have been generally positive and very careful throughout, but I feel really thrown by the news that asthmatics have been removed from group 6 of the Covid vaccine schedule.
I have been literally checking my phone for a text invite as our local surgery announced they were starting vaccinating grp 6 and sending out text invites.
Now I will not be in any of the first 9 groups, and my asthma has been crap for the last year.
A lot of asthmatics have been voluntarily shielding, and looking forward to vaccination and it seems a bit unfair to kick us out of the vaccination schedule now.
I would like to be pleased that it looks like asthmatics might be at no more risk of dying, but I don't feel that would apply to me, and am surprised at those findings.
I generally develop a chest infection, (I have had pneumonia and pleurisy in the last few years) with any cold. I am scared of covid, and it's a genuine fear not anxiety.

Totally agree! If that is the case re lower risk, why couldn't they have told us before now? It would have saved a year of fear and anxiety for so many people! My 20 year old has just had his group 6 notification as he was frequently hospitalised as a child but has been stable for years.

I would like to be pleased that it looks like asthmatics might be at no more risk of dying, but I don't feel that would apply to me

Why do you think you know better than the medical experts who informed the decision?

Yabu. They have based the decision on the order of providing vaccines on the risk to people. If your asthma is well controlled & you are under 60 the statistics show you are not at significantly greater risk than others your age.

Be patient. We will all get it in the next few months.

Not all asthmatics are moved out of the group though it's some not all. They are basing it on severity of disease rather than a blanket grouping. www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/health-56069455
It's the same for RA not everybody with it will be in group 6 just those on immunosuppressive therapies.

I am in the exact same position as you OP.
I’ve had pneumonia a few years ago and 90% of the time when I have get a cold I need steroid tablets and antibiotics as well as the 2 asthma inhalers I take every day.
If we are vulnerable enough to need a flu jab every year, how are we not vulnerable enough for the Covid vaccine?
It just does not make any sense to me.
It strikes of changing the goal posts to meet the targets they have set, as they did at the beginning of January when diabetics and people with heart problems got bumped down from extremely vulnerable (group 4) to vulnerable (group 6) so they could get to the 15 million vaccinations target by mid feb.
Or maybe I’m cynical 🤨

Is that new news? My dh has quite severe asthma and we never thought he would be in it, after they found it was not such a complicating factor.

They are being very clear about priority order to minimise deaths which is why police officers and teachers are not getting bumped up the queue. It is a sensible strategy imo,although never going to please everyone

I feel I know better because I often struggle with breathing without covid.
The medical advice is a very wide brush that will apply equally to people with mild asthma. DH is trying to persuade me that I will get invited because I have been to hospital with asthma, but that has been out of hours or a and e, with no admission. Whereas the criteria says hospital admission.

Oh and "voluntarily shielding" was your own choice and not warranted by the level of risk to you, as assessed by medical professionals.

Too many people have become obsessed with fear. Look at the statistics. A vanishingly tiny number of non-obese people under 40 have died with this, despite there being many asthmatics under 40.

I'm in this group too - had covid and actually suffering significant breathing issues ever since - 10 months on. DH who is a consultant, been working on covid wards throughout, so well informed, thinks it's a dubious decision. Pretty pissed off here - not so much for me but for other similar asthmatics that may be unnecessarily exposed to this.

@1starwars2 I agree and I’m gutted about it too. I’m over 50 so I’ll be done as part as cohort 9 but I’d really hoped it would be in the next week or two.

I get the science and whilst it’s good to hear we aren’t at an increased risk of death, that still doesn’t make me feel better when I’m constantly coughing and my chest feels really painful. I know it’s irrational but I feel more vulnerable than I have at any point in the pandemic, probably because my asthma is worse in winter.

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

Yabu. They have based the decision on the order of providing vaccines on the risk to people. If your asthma is well controlled & you are under 60 the statistics show you are not at significantly greater risk than others your age.

Be patient. We will all get it in the next few months.

Whenever Covid deniers have claimed it no different to flu. Scientists and politicians have refuted that claim and shown evidence that it’s ten times more deadly than flu. As I said in my previous post, if I’m vulnerable enough for a seasonal flu jab than how am I not vulnerable enough for the Covid jab?

I'm an asthmatic and I've been so careful so it does feel like a kick in the teeth. I had frequent admissions 9 years ago and it says anyone who has been admitted ever will be offered it but I haven't been so I'm confused on the guidelines. My asthma has only gotten under control the past 6 months and even now it's not great, use more than one blue inhaler a month yet my gp told me I didn't have to shield. Feels like no one really knows tbh

Only 4 days ago it was confirmed that people on steroid inhalers would be in group 4
BBC News - Asthma sufferers' 'confusion' over Covid vaccine
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56012530

I’m 56 with asthma and had an appointment for my vaccination for next week. I’m overweight though and wondered if that’s why it’s come sooner than I thought .

@TheKeatingFive

I would like to be pleased that it looks like asthmatics might be at no more risk of dying, but I don't feel that would apply to me

Why do you think you know better than the medical experts who informed the decision?

Even the medical experts acknowledge that patients know more about their disease, than they do.

It’s very disappointing. My asthma is well controlled because I take a lot of medication. If we get flu jabs because of the increased risk, why aren’t we a priority group for this vaccine? If the point is not just to reduce deaths but also hospitalisation?

Because covid is different flu. That means the people who are most vulnerable to covid might not be those who are most vulnerable to flu.

Yanbu, as asthma UK advises that although mortality is not particularly heightened there is an increased risk due to asthma of requiring hospitalosation. And I would also worry about asthmatics being more susceptible to ongoing health problems post covid than other people.

If they aren't in group 6 then they should be done alongside the over 50's.

I think that this reeks of sacrificing the health of asthmatics to meet targets. All those needing the flu jab usually should be done prior to the under 50's with no underlying health conditions.

I’m asthmatic and in group six. I’m having my jab soon. Asthmatics haven’t been totally removed.

I think it is a really dubious decision.
My children will be going back to school as soon as they open, but I was so pleased that I would have the vaccine first.
It's the late notice change that's really thrown me. My asthma isn't well controlled but I am on high dose steroid inhalers and haven't found a better combination.
I agree I always feel more vulnerable in winter, roll on Spring.

Some GP practices were quick of the mark and sent texts on Friday to group 6 patients. I got a text and called to confirm it was correct (45 with asthma). I was assured it was and booked in for my vaccine tomorrow.

I have since heard of a number of asthmatics varying ages that also got a text in my area on Friday.

If you believe you are high risk I would call your surgery and ask if you have remained on the group 6 list.

I went onto the website today to book my vaccine due to my job, I am also asthmatic and was gutted when my doctor told me I wouldn’t be elligable just yet. HOWEVER when I booked it, it asked the question that did I have any of the following conditions, and asthma was one of them. So I don’t know if it’s postcode dependant, but might be worth having a look into it

Even the medical experts acknowledge that patients know more about their disease, than they do.

This is about understanding Covid rather than asthma though.

Presumably they’ve made this decision because the data tells them asthmatics aren’t at increased risk.

That must be worrying, in my country asthmatics who are on steroid inhalers are in the 2nd risk group (those who have taken oral steroids in the past year are in the 1st group), which seems sensible. Though on the bright side, you'll probably still get your vaccine before us because the UK is so far ahead in vaccinating.

And I would have been hospitalised as a child but as we were rural I was given a nebuliser for home which I was on frequently for years. I have been asthmatic since I was 2, frequently on steroids when ever I get chest infections or bad respiratory infections.