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.

Thanks for that. I'm not sure where we'd all be without having the abundantly obvious manspained for us 🙄

I have moderate asthma which is bad enough for me to need a long acting reliever in my preventative inhaler. Because of this l have been staying at home apart from walks and my husband has been shopping for us and my elderly mother, who is doing the same thing. I am in the vulnerable group but not in the shielded category and feel that l am following the government advice as best l am. I am fortunate because I am able to carry on working from home.

The thing is we’re all going to catch it in the end. We just need to try and flatten the curve so we don’t catch it at once. I have a vulnerable partner but I can’t protect him totally. I still have to go out to the supermarket once a week and I obviously take as many precautions as I can.

I’ve fought tooth and nail to get shopping delivered to my MIL who is in the shielded group and my own mum who is over 70 with no health concerns is managing to stay in as I’ve organised a Tesco delivery plus friends are doing the odd shop. It’s difficult! We can only do the best we can.

I’ve noticed a lot more businesses trying to help out with food deliveries. Might be worth trying to find out locally what’s going on by using social media. We’ve had a few things through the door and other people have had success getting slots with Iceland, Morrison’s boxes and M&S are doing boxes too now. Also seen amazon prime mentioned on here tonight for food delivery.

The shielded are being shielded because if they need a ventilator and there isn't enough (during the peak), they will be denied.
It isn't to keep beds free, it's to prevent their death. It's the best they can do.

Going out to the shops also means you increase the risk of spreading infection unknowingly, so I don't think it's unreasonable that lots of people are avoiding it.

Seems to me that if you can actually bag a shopping delivery then they aren't living somewhere where demand is that acute. No slots at all where I am.

I'm asthmatic - only mild but absolutely don't want COVID as last time I had flu I nearly went to A and E and it took weeks for my chest to recover. I am not in the shielding group or even particularly vulnerable as asthmatics go. We are not going in to shops if at all possible as we live in a corona hot spot. There's no supermarket deliveries available so we have found alternative suppliers and are being as smart as we can with shopping/meal planning. Am I being selfish? Should I put my big girl pants on??

My last paragraph is rubbish.

Should read, a household with all vulnerable occupants is more in need than ours with 1 extremely vulnerable occupant and 1 reasonably well old soul.

I'm in the shielded group. Got the letter, registered on the website. I made the big mistake of saying I didn't need help with getting food because I assumed I would be able to get my usual weekly online shop.
I can't. Even though the shielded group are supposed to get priority.
I can't get through by phone. I have accounts at all the online supermarkets because I shop at them all sometimes but none of them have any slots.

You're not confused @SnoozyLou? Good. Sadly, lots of people are because there multiple threads from posters who are.

It isn't to keep beds free, it's to prevent their death. It's the best they can do.
Exactly. I am under no illusion, I could not survive this virus.Going shopping for me would be risking my life. I fully expect to be isolated until there is a vaccine.

@squirrels: Try your local Facebook group - many volunteers willing to shop for people on ours (and they're fairly antisocial round these parts usually), or, try your local council as, I believe, they are the people co-ordinating local support.
I've made that "mistake" too but have a couple of plan B's nearby if my plan A goes ti*s up.
Good luck.

@quirrels - nothing to do with tree rodents

@quirrels : pinched from another thread
www.covidmutualaid.org

There’s not a lot of point attempting CPR if you’re not going to admit to ICU afterwards. CPR doesn’t have great survival outcomes, and patients will need intensive care afterwards. CPR outcomes will be especially poor if you can’t reverse the underlying cause as would be the case for someone dying of covid infection.
Better if, for example, someone has an arrhythmia which can be shocked back to a normal rhythm.

See this is what I think is so unfair. If you are 'vulnerable' enough to potentially be denied lifesaving ICU treatment then in my book you should be allowed as much help -should you need it - as the shielded group. Why should a diabetic or an asthmatic or someone with heart disease or whatever have to put themselves at risk by going to the supermarket when they could potentially be just left to die? Why are they any less important than the people on the list?

Exactly this! Evidence shows people over 80, those with asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure (especially if you have more than one of these) are exactly the people who die from this. They will likely be denied treatment. Yet they can get no help because no combination of these gets you on this shielding list which has become the new yard stick for who is worthy of support. This vulnerable-but-refused-help-and-likely-to-be-refused-treatment category is the group from which most people will die.

The shielded are being shielded because if they need a ventilator and there isn't enough (during the peak), they will be denied

Being realistic (or possibly cynical), I'm pretty sure they'll be denied after the peak.

DH is in the shielded group - no letter or text, possibly due to a recent change of GP and a couple of other things. GP is no help at all. DH is currently at home on SSP due to me having Covid(ish) symptoms. He's going back to work a week on Monday because we need this thing called an income. We've already discussed options if he gets the virus, so anyone concerned about him depriving an outlier of a ventilator can stop worrying. Now that he's settled, who shall we decide is the next person not worth treating?

*Neeting that's true but the 'vulnerable' are also likely to be denied treatment
*
This is sadly very true. A lot of people are slipping through the net and it could cost them their life.

I am on chemo and got a letter advising me to shield. My 12yr old DS, also got one as a severe asthmatic. I also have three younger children at home.

I cannot get a shopping slot for love nor money and I'm finding the situation really frustrating. The online supermarkets keep crowing on how they're prioritising online slots for the extremely high risk, but as one of those people, I am not been seen for some reason. I received the letter and texts from the NHS, I am also registered on the Gov website as extremely high risk. But still nothing.

Shortly after taking my latest online smart pass payment, Someone at Ocado finally replied to one of my messages, letting me know they might consider me for a slot.

Frankly, those using an online slot when they're able to access the shops themselves, are selfish in my opinion.

If you're not shielding dont use resources aimed at people who literally cant leave the house.

I would like to see the shielded get everything they need. That said, if I could get my over 80-years-old FIL a slot, I would, or my dad with his 3 underlying health conditions. I wouldn't feel one bit guilty because, if you look at the statistics, people in their positions are well-represented in the death toll.

So no, you can't tell everyone not on the shielded list to forgo all potential help and get themselves killed!

And the chances of those needing shielding dying from the virus is higher then those classed as vulnerable hence why more assistance is being offered to those classed as extremely high risk. Which means jack shit in my experience. I got the letter and texts. I've had NO luck getting an online shop despite pleading with the retailers and explaining I'm on the government list. I needed to get bloods done before being prescribed my chemo but the hospital wanted them done by my surgery, so I rang to book it but they couldn't do my bloods there as I have 4 children I couldn't leave at home and as my 12yr old is also shielding due to severe asthma (he's had the letter) I couldn't leave them anywhere. They wouldn't do anything to help me, now I get they're very busy but I was between a rock and a hard place. So instead I had to go to a germy hospital to get them done. So this far, being category 1 has not helped me in any way!

I am 33, a mum of 4 young kids and I was due to start my 9th round of 12 sessions of chemotherapy today. However, my oncologist called me to cancel my treatment moving forward as if it goes ahead and I get ill, even if it's not with COVID, he told me that I will not be taken to hospital for treatment full stop. He told me in no uncertain terms, whilst on chemo, if I catch this, I won't come out the other side.

I'm far more frightened of my tumour then I am of this disease in all honesty and I have spent the afternoon crying that this virus has caused me to only make it 3/4 of the way through my chemotherapy schedule and that could cost me precious time with my children.

I am annoyed that the government hasn’t given clear advice that people in the vulnerable group shouldn’t be going into work.

I’m in the shielded group and dp is going to the shop for us, following stringent hand washing when he returns. He’s also got to shop for his elderly parents, one of whom is also in the shielded group, one who is vulnerable. What else can we do? We also can’t distance ourselves entirely as our house just isn’t big enough.

@WoahBodyforrrm : I'm so,so sorry.
That is a truly horrendous position to be in.
I couldn't find the flowers to give you so have an unMumsnetty virtual hug.

@Wingedharpy thank you so much, I really appreciate it.

Stay safe and well in these strange times