Shielding list to be virtually doubled

[Bonsa]

And go from 2.2 million to 3.9 million.

Breaking news...

@KaleJuicer Im a data scientist, would love to see the algorithim.

Particularly after the recent study on asthma in the Lancet re females and asthma.

Thanks for the links (:

I think the data about asthma has quite a few limitations:
Asthmatics were asked to strictly social distance, data was collected after that
The patients were not age matched, other conditions had a higher average age and age is an independent risk factor (and a large one at that!)
The percentage of asthmatics in the population includes a large amount of children. Much more than other conditions and this skews the data. Would be more sensible to compare percentage of asthmatics in the population who are over 18.
There’s a lot of talk about steroid inhalers being protective but nobody seems to have looked what percentage of admissions were regularly using a steroid inhaler prior to admission

When I do this and pretend I don't have asthma I am ranked 16 out of 100. (White british, female and early 30s).

When I say I do have asthma but pretend I don't take an LTRA I am ranked 13 out of 100.

When I tell the truth and say I have asthma and take an LTRA I am ranked 17 out of 100.

DH who is the same age as me and also white British with no underlying health conditions gets ranked 28 out of 100. DH's BMI is 17 (he's healthy as confirmed by GP, just naturally slim). When he pretended his BMI was 18.5 it dropped his rank to 20 out of 100.

Does a BMI below 18.5 increase someone's risk? I thought it was only high BMI which increased risk?

[quote KaleJuicer]@Nanuki its in the algorithm which might not be very accessible to non data scientists, but here's an example of some of the research : www.nursinginpractice.com/clinical/respiratory/people-with-asthma-less-likely-to-get-covid-says-study/[/quote]
Thank you. Wow. I think this should be publicised more. I, and many many others, have spent the last year thinking we are of higher risk of Covid.

It should have been mentioned with the recent withdrawal of most asthmatics from group 6 too.

@Nanuki the algorithm is on the qcovid website (tab at the top next to the calculator) and further details on open access bmj. Also published on github I believe.

I am not shielding but have a family member who is and who has also been made redundant. No employer will take her on at the moment because of this, it's a real worry for her.

Could they be planning on opening up which is why they’re telling more vulnerable people to shield- so the rest of the population can see how it goes?

That concerns me too LemonSherbert. I've been made redundant (school) and it's going to hinder my job hunt if I have to shield according to these new guidelines.

@LemonSherbetFancies I am in the same position - had two jobs withdrawn when they found out I was shielding. It's really shit.

@Rockbird it’s voluntary advice. You don’t have to shield if you don’t want to and you can ask to be taken off the list. You don’t have to disclose this to a prospective employer. Your GP can check the risk factors on your file to check the correct information was factored in and you can decide with your GP what the best course of action is for you.

Had two jobs withdrawn when they found out I was shielding. It's really shit
I know it is me being thick here but this has confused me.

Perhaps the employer was worried about what could happen if you were going to work and got ill?

@Nanuki that’s terrible, I’m sorry to hear that

The problem is if you don't disclose it to an employer, you may regret it further down the line.
Hopefully the shielding will end on 31st March. It's so unfair on people who have been shielding and made redundant, it scarpers their chances and they seem to be a forgotten group.

Thanks KaleJuicer. Of course I don't know for sure if I'm going to be on this new list but it looks reasonably likely. It's thrown a bit of a curved ball if so.

@Rockbird I really hope that if you are on the list you get your vaccine by end of March (which is absolutely the current trajectory) and then either shielding ends or it doesn’t apply to the fully vaccinated. Fingers crossed for you and anyone else affected by this.

Thanks @kalejuicer

It's a very indiscrete way to get around not being allowed to ask about disabilities. Give you an office start date of the week later and you have to disclose your shielding, or take a massive risk.

@StarCat2020 the thing is there wasn't really any reason why I would have to go to work - employers just aren't willing to work with people who are shielding in many case - hence why the many of us have been involved in redundancies.

the thing is there wasn't really any reason why I would have to go to work - employers just aren't willing to work with people who are shielding in many case - hence why the many of us have been involved in redundancies
So they turned you down when you would have been WFH??

That is fucking disgusting.

Also, how long were you at the employer who made you redundant?

@StarCat2020 Under 2 years with previous employer.

Yes, it's really shit with what is happening with trying to get re-employed. I do hopefully have a job now but it's still a challenging time and it will be a case that I won't start until shielding ends (but this is very much and very understanable a face to face role which is funded so I understand this bit)

[quote KaleJuicer]@Rockbird I really hope that if you are on the list you get your vaccine by end of March (which is absolutely the current trajectory) and then either shielding ends or it doesn’t apply to the fully vaccinated. Fingers crossed for you and anyone else affected by this.[/quote]
The shielding letter I received today extending shielding to 31st March very specifically points out that it still applies even to those who have had two doses of vaccination.

Does anyone know/understand what score on the new algorithm would see you added to the new shielding/vaccine priority list?
Must admit I don’t understand it fully at this stage.

@KaleJuicer thanks for sharing the fact the algorithim was on that website. Very freaking interesting to see the variations between and with illnesses.

Under 2 years with previous employer
You know what I was thinking.

Sorry you have been treated like shit.

Good luck in your new role!!!

I suspect they’ve extended shielding to more people and to all us existing shielders for longer so they can start getting schools back.

I score 94!😲
I don't go out much/at all.