Being 'vulnerable' does not make you part of the 'Shielded' group - if you're confused, see below

[Clymene]

At the start of the outbreak, many people were told they were in the vulnerable category. This includes people with asthma, pregnant women, the morbidly obese and people with MS and diabetes.

The full list is here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults

These people should be very careful with social distancing, ideally for 12 weeks.

The shielded group are people who are extremely vulnerable. They have been identified by the NHS and should not leave the house. These are people with cancer, organ transplants, cystic fibrosis and other serious conditions. This is why they have been issued with food parcels by the government. A full list of these people is here:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19

You cannot self-define as shielded. If you are vulnerable, take precautions. Use your local resources. But remember there are people who are much more vulnerable than you.

If you do not fall into either of these groups, please leave the resources to keep the vulnerable safe and well. Not only to protect them, but to protect all of us. Not to put too fine a point on it, but if the vulnerable clog up all the beds, there won't be any space for the outliers who randomly get very ill.

[Mazarinegreen]

I think for my DH a short break in the garden would be a break from the stress of working 6 days a week (at home) trying to keep his business going. The mental load of no family interaction/ separate eating and sleeping/ no outside etc for 12 weeks could be difficult enough to sustain for many people I think?

[Onmyown1]

I’m another one shielded but going in the garden. Due to fences/borders in the garden I’m always quite a distance away from neighbours.

[oxcat1]

Also, about the confusion, I don't think it was helped by the media.
The papers and news sites were plastered with 'over 70s told to remain at home for 12 weeks' from ?Friday evening, until ?the following Sunday morning when the government actually released the guidelines for the vulnerable, which did not state isolation, but 'strict social distancing'.

Many older people that i know didn't read the actual guidelines, but continued with the earlier leaked info that they thought was correct. A real shame given how isolation and loneliness can actually be linked to increased risk of death in older people.

[Travelban]

We just got a letter for one of my sons, who has coeliac disease. The other son also has coeliac but didn't get it. Maybe its in the post. It says he is vulnerable. I assume this doesn't means extremely vulnerable.

I wish we did get the letter sooner, but we haven't left the house apart from a walk and shopping. We are now looking to try and get slots. I am terrified of him getting ill. Thinking of it he is hyposplenic due to coeliac and he does get a bad cough and fever at least three times in the winter.

It's very worrying.

[LangClegsInSpace]

The government advice says:

try spending time with the windows open to let in the fresh air, arranging space to sit and see a nice view (if possible) and get some natural sunlight, or get out into any private space, keeping at least 2 metres away from your neighbours and household members if you are sitting on your doorstep

www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19

So I think it's fine to go in the garden.

[NoNamesNoPackDrillHere]

Re going in the garden, it states it on the letter too. Where are people getting the idea from you can’t?

[flapjackfairy]

@Mazarinegreen
If you ring Sainsbury's you can add the vulnerable person onto the existing account with delivery pass. I did that as I also have a delivery pass and it has worked fine in terms of identifying us as a vulnerable household though there is not a single slot available for the next 4 weeks at least so as you say a complete waste of time. It is annoying that I am a regular customer with a shielded child and still can't get a delivery. I have given up and am using Morrisons boxes which are excellent and great value. May not bother going back to Sainsbury's after this.

[MigginsMs]

“Clogging up all the beds “


Nice.

[MigginsMs]

I have a high BMI but not on the shielding list so I have to still actually go to the shops as there are no delivery slots 🤷🏼‍♀️

[aWeaponCalledtheWord]

i’ve had a letter from the NHS, an identical one with covering letter from the GP surgery and texts to confirm that i have registered as Shielded.

i also ticked boxes to say i can’t get shopping. no food parcel as yet, nothing from supermarkets offering slots. how is this working for other people? what’s the time-lag between registering with a Shielding letter and actually getting any assistance?

i’m not on facebook so can’t access any help there. i live alone, disabled with no transport and even if i wanted to i couldn’t walk anywhere (arthritis which is currently in a massive flare and hideously painful).

i managed to snag an asda slot by virtue of being awake at midnight but even though i’m a registered customer with them, they haven’t contacted me to offer further assistance.

i guess i’ll just sit home for 18 months waiting for a vaccine and asking my neighbour to get me a loaf of bread every so often. i’m certainly not going knocking with a list asking for them to shop for me!

it’s all so disjointed.

[twinnywinny14]

I think in the midst of a global pandemic people are allowed to be as cautious as they choose. DH is in the high risk group but not the vulnerable ‘shielding’ group. Despite this he is has been off work since just before ‘lockdown’ and hasn’t come into contact with anyone else, including shopping. That is our choice, he was really unwell in 2017 and we are thankful for everyday so we are not prepared to risk it x

[AnotherEmma]

"People who are deemed vulnerable have been told they are and then left to their own devices. It's an absolute scandal. They've just frightened people and put no scaffolding in place up support them."

I'm technically vulnerable due to pregnancy. I realise others might feel differently but personally I don't feel the need for any "scaffolding". I feel that the advise for people in the vulnerable category has been clear, since it was published on 16.3.20. We are to follow the general social distancing guidelines and it is even more important for us to follow the guidelines than it is for the general population. The guidelines don't say we have to stop working but they do say we should WFH if at all possible. I am still going out for a daily walk or cycle and keeping my distance from others. For food shopping we are either getting an Ocado slot (smart pass members) or DH is doing it. However if DH wasn't able to do it (or if I didn't have a DH) I would - and have - done food shopping myself, kept my distance, washing hands afterwards etc. If I was a more cautious and/or anxious person I could always ask a kind neighbour to do it (a kind neighbour posted leaflets offering help and started a WhatsApp group).

I really don't need any special treatment from the government. I am very happy for that to be reserved for the people in the "extremely vulnerable" category who really need it.

[AnotherEmma]

*advice

[IrmaFayLear]

"People who are deemed vulnerable have been told they are and then left to their own devices. It's an absolute scandal. They've just frightened people and put no scaffolding in place up support them."

The above is ABSOLUTE CRAP . TOTAL CRAP and makes me ANGRY .

I received text and letter informing I had to shield. Since then I have received almost daily government texts, a text from the county council, the local council and a telephone call from a govt person and a social worker, all asking what help I required. And this week I received a govt food parcel.

I can't praise the organisation highly enough. It all made me feel humble and guilty, as I do have supermarket shopping slots and I don't live alone. It almost makes up for knowing that I'm toast if I do get coronavirus .

I shall decline the food parcel in future as although the stuff was all good (shame on the people who are nit-picking about the contents) as I have supermarket slots I think it would be greedy to take the parcel and involve people in time and effort delivering it.

So many people are working so hard and with such dedication and it makes my blood absolutely boil when I read all this whingeing and moaning on here not to mention the lying.

[IrmaFayLear]

Also some people have zero common sense. The official guidance and letters have to apply to everyone , so obviously someone who lives in a flat has to be mindful of encountering people on the stairs/in the lift, but if you have a decent-sized garden then of course it's fine to go in it.

[Clymene]

@IrmaFayLear - you've missed the entire point of the thread - that people who are classed as 'vulnerable' are not the same as extremely vulnerable. The shielded group are indeed being very well looked after and I am grateful to the government for ensuring they are able to shield.

Those who are merely vulnerable - so have been told to avoid contact with other people - have no support in place. They are scrabbling about, very worried, but they have to go to the shops or they won't be able to eat.

[CatkinToadflax]

Clymene I agree entirely. I am being shielded and have had a letter from the NHS, a letter from the government, 11 texts from NHS Coronavirus HQ and am getting regular shopping deliveries from Sainsbury’s. My mum is 73 and very frail but can’t register as shielding because she doesn’t fit the health criteria. In spite of being over 70 and therefore in the vulnerable group, and living alone, she’s been offered nothing at all.

[AnotherEmma]

I think IrmaFayLear has entirely proved the point of the thread! Many people don't know the difference between "vulnerable" and "extremely vulnerable". It doesn't seem complicated to me but clearly it wasn't communicated well enough.

[Clymene]

@AnotherEmma - I suspect the issue is that the government released the list of vulnerable first, made a lot of people panic, and then released the extremely vulnerable list. Which the people on the first list didn't realise didn't include them

So there are a lot of people who for example are pregnant like you but who are absolutely terrified of leaving the house even though you can if you're sensible and take precautions.

As @oxcat1 said, the 12 week isolation period doesn't apply to all over 70s but many think it does.

[Clymene]

And perhaps you'd like to apologise for saying my post was absolute crap and I am lying @IrmaFayLear

[AnotherEmma]

"Which the people on the first list didn't realise didn't include them"

Well I realised and I can't be the only one.
I think a lot of people are just panicking and failing to apply common sense.
If you don't have any of the conditions on the "extremely vulnerable" list, you're not on the list.

[MRex]

I think those who feel they aren't getting any help might have to just state what part of the country they are in so that others can suggest how they can get help. We've had the following offers of help:

1. Street email and WhatsApp group; open offers of help for shopping, we've also spoken to two neighbours who aren't in the groups themselves so they have numbers to call if they need anything. I have extras for 3 other households coming in my online delivery next week.
   
2. Letter from local council with phone and email if help is needed.
   
3. Leaflet dropped in for local group of volunteers, who also have a profile in a couple of Facebook groups offering help.
   
4. Email about some restaurant suppliers now doing deliveries, we placed an order for us and one for my parents in their area. My parents have since got themselves into a bigger restaurant supplies and farm delivery group, so they have a huge range of options now.
   
5. Many emails from supermarkets about how to contact them if you're vulnerable. Delivery slots are definitely available again after those couple of weeks where people panicked. We hadn't used it for ourselves in that period, but did get orders for both parents. The difference between shielded and vulnerable isn't huge, they're all in their 70s and 3 of them have health issues that are known to increase risks, they had every right to try to stay at home despite what OP thinks.
   
6. I saw one person on a Facebook group ask about help for a relative and he was given 3 different group details as well as multiple personal offers of help.
   
   The answer isn't for everyone else to march off to the shops every few days, it's to find help for those who need it. The world isn't normal, we need to help others to find help instead of just grumbling about what is or isn't available and pontificating about how others should manage their own risk. Those people who are struggling, please say where in the country you are (name-change if desired) and let people help you find someone to help.

[Mazarinegreen]

@irmafaylear - sounds more like your council etc is very organised - my DH is on the shielded list (i.e.not just vulnerable plus has had the shielding letter) and has not received any of that support - and we can't easily access any online shopping slots. I agree with a pp though there has been a lot of confusion between shielded/vulnerable not helped in the slightest by confusing Govt comms.....

[IrmaFayLear]

Ok I'll hold my hands up and admit I hadn't read the whole thread . Which is poor form since I have been on MN for... about 12 or 13 years...

Anyway, I can understand there is a bit of confusion about various degrees of vulnerability. I think the trouble is there is a difference between shielded, as in you are vulnerable to this virus (and will therefore be a pain in the arse to the NHS if you get it) and vulnerable as in being a person who is elderly/has SN/is in poor health.

As others have remarked, there is help out there. I am the very last person who would ask for help, but when I grovellingly contacted the local help group (card put through door) someone collected medicine for me and left it on the doorstep (I asked what they would like in return and I left hefty donation).

To get a priority delivery slot I filled out a form from govt and then I received texts from two supermarkets. I was very reluctant at first because I thought it was another step to getting myself on the "don't bother with a ventilator for this one" list .

Sorry if I was a overly-angry, but I have seen too many posts on here where people have been whining that they aren't considered "vulnerable enough" (eg a woman with a one-year-old, "But I'm a mother ") and others moaning about the contents of their parcel.

[Clymene]

I started the thread because it was clear a lot of people didn't realise @AnotherEmma! 

And apology accepted @IrmaFayLear I started this thread because I completely agree with you! I have 2 family members shielding and I am so grateful that they are being supported to shield. And I get v annoyed when people complain too!

There's a huge difference between 'it would be better if you didn't get the virus' and 'it's probably going to kill you if you do get it' and there is a lot of panic.

In my experience, the seriously ill are pretty sanguine about this situation because they are on intimate terms with their own mortality.