Am II extremely vulnerable or not?

[KiddingMyself]

I had an email from sainsbury's this morning saying that I've been given priority booking because I'm identified on the governments extremely vulnerable list. However, I've had no letter from the government.

Has anyone else been in this situation?

At the moment I'm the one from the house going out doing all the shopping, and we are doing our daily exercise, but obviously if I get the letter I will have to stop. Does getting an email from Sainsbury's mean that the letter is definitely on its way? Or could there be a mix up…

I expect I know what the answer is… I just don't really want to accept it!

Do you have a condition that makes you vulnerable?

Do you have any underlying medical conditions?
The list of conditions which put someone in the extremely vulnerable category, are pretty serious eg. organ transplant, various cancers, copd, cystic fibrosis.... etc.
Not the sort of things you are likely to have and not know about.

IMHO, most folk in this category will have worked out for themselves that they should be shielding.

Often, the letters are a bit slow coming but there is sometimes a text from GP surgery before letter arrives.

"Sielding is for your personal protection.It is your choice to decide whether to follow the measures we advise".

I haven't had a text either, just the email from Sainsbury's. We don't actually use Sainsbury's, so I contacted Ocado with my details because we usually use my partners account, and they have verified that I'm on their list. So it looks like I might be.

I do have a number of conditions, none of them are the obvious ones though, so I'm not sure which one would've put me on the list.

You need to read the Government guidance document on shielding OP.

There are several things that you should and should not be doing.

Deciding between Sainsbury's or Ocado is the least of your worries😉

Contact your GP's surgery for clarification if you feel that you don't belong on the list and an error has been made.

UK govt list of those at increased risk

•People aged 70 or older (regardless of medical conditions)
•Those under 70 with an underlying health condition listed below (ie anyone instructed to get a flu jab as an adult each year on medical grounds) chronic (long-term) respiratory diseases, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema or bronchitis
•chronic heart disease, such as heart failure
•chronic kidney disease
•chronic liver disease, such as hepatitis
•chronic neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), a learning disability or cerebral palsy diabetes
•problems with your spleen – for example, sickle cell disease or if you have had your spleen removed
•a weakened immune system as the result of conditions such as HIV and AIDS, or medicines such as steroid tablets or chemotherapy
•being seriously overweight (a BMI of 40 or above)
•those who are pregnant

even higher risk
•People who have received an organ transplant and remain on ongoing immunosuppression medication
•People with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy or radiotherapy
•People with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia who are at any stage of treatment
•People with severe chest conditions such as cystic fibrosis or severe asthma (requiring hospital admissions or courses of steroid tablets)
•People with severe diseases of body systems, such as severe kidney disease (dialysis)

I think it was just the ones in the bottom list of even more vulnerable who got the letter, I imagine a very high percentage of the population would be on the vulnerable list.

"Extremely vulnerable" group is the "even higher risk" group EasterBuns has kindly typed out for you.

Copied and pasted from the numbers thread!

Just spotted a correction that needs making in your list @EasterBuns.

That list came from the very first document that the Government put out regarding social distancing and social isolating.
They listed that "even higher risk" group, who they said would get a letter.

Then the shielding document came out.

Severe kidney disease (dialysis) was removed from the shielding group, for obvious reasons.

You can't stay indoors AND attend a dialysis session 3 x weekly, so dialysis folk didn't get included in the shielding group - though, other than dialysis, I would imagine most of them aren't going anywhere.

Your list doesn't state diabetes though @EasterBuns? Diabetes is on the increased risk category.

Sorry, I've just seen it. It's how you've copied it so it reads cerebral palsy diabetes.

I'm on the shielding list but haven't got a letter or text so definitely check the list of conditions

Lol winged, I wasn't, but I thought I'd it was just an error on Sainsbury's part it wouldn't be echoed by Ocado, but they approved it immediately- that suggested that it was more likely to be the correct list. I know the supermarkets do have access to the list.

I don't want to bother the GP's unnecessarily, and I'm not concerned at the moment so will just wait and see if a letter arrives in the next few days.

Definitely none of my conditions on the governments list, but it is possible that my unstable allergies are the trigger- as it's an inappropriate immune system response.

I had a text from the GP and an email from Sainsbury’s and Asda but no letter.

I haven't had a text either, the whole system seems to be so confusing

Whereas we've had the letter...but still can't get a bloody slot!!

The letter is still only advice OP , they aren’t going to arrest you if someone sees you out and about . Frankly if you didn’t feel that your conditions made you highly vulnerable and you hadn’t arranged for someone else to go and shop and stopped exercising out of the home I wouldn’t bother now IYSWIM .

Thank you x