NHS letter for dd saying she needs two doses

[ChittyChittyBoomBoom]

We received an NHS letter this morning saying that dd should have two doses of the covid vaccine due to her having a condition that means she may suffer more complications from covid….except I’m not aware that she does have a condition that makes her more at risk 🤷🏽‍♀️.

Her only ‘conditions’ are food intolerances and asd, neither of which would make her more at risk! I’ve phoned my gp who were just as mystified and are going to look into it for me.

I just wondered if anyone else had had this issue?

I got one of these letters saying I should have a third dose (I am an adult) due to the medical condition I have or the medication I am taking.
But I do not have a medical condition or take any medication. I assume it has been sent it error, although it was addressed to me by name and I am ignoring it for now.
It said not to contact the gp and that they will get in touch to book the 3rd jab, so if they do contact me I will be able to ask why and check that it is meant for me.

that was to Clockover, who would apparently like to take the discussion outside.

I don't even know what that means. Autism isn't a learning disability though and I am not unreasonable in saying so.

Clockover, I have a son with ASD. I possibly also have a daughter with ASD.

I have 2 autistic DC as well; and myself.

I have seen it put on medical records, school notes and university SAC forms under mental health condition, mental illness, developmental disorder, learning difficulty, neurological difference and god knows what else.

You get tired of arguing.

So essentially you agree it's not a learning disability? Why then the comments to me for saying so?

I’m sorry if I offended you.

I don't really get offended.

[quote Mixingvax]It’s the ASD it’s in the green books listed as 12-15 year old at higher risk of complications
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1018444/Greenbook_chapter_14a_16Sept21.pdf[/quote]
Thank you, that seems to explain it! I think I’d like to understand why children with neuro disabilities are considered to be more at risk.

Good! No, it was my clumsy phrasing (having reread what I wrote).

@KittiesInsane

Good! No, it was my clumsy phrasing (having reread what I wrote).

And my bad reading!

Appreciate you saying so

@ChittyChittyBoomBoom I don’t know the scientific answer but as covid causes neurological symptoms (loss of taste and smell for eg) it makes sense that people with existing neurological conditions could be at risk. My son has Tourette’s another neurological and it has been noted that covid makes tics worse which also makes sense as tics can be triggered by other viruses.

It is also the case for some autistic people that they don’t feel pain/illness in the same way and don’t always recognise when they need medical help quickly enough and treating in hospital can be very traumatic.

I think I’d like to understand why children with neuro disabilities are considered to be more at risk

There are several factors, but people with autism are more likely to have poor outcomes if they contract Covid.

I've also seen a CDC report that cites the potential for people with ASD having an increased potential for difficulties in following safety measures (mask wearing, social distancing, hand washing) and increased risk they may have a reduced ability to recognise or communicate Covid symptoms.

Statistically, people with ASD also have a higher risk for having other underlying medical conditions that could put them at higher risk of Covid-19.

Obviously the above isn't going to apply to everyone on the ASD spectrum but, as a group, people with ASD are at higher risk - that's why they're being offered two jabs.

CrocodilesCry thank you, that’s very interesting. I hadn’t thought about higher pain thresholds/communication difficulties.

Dd actually had covid last week and was quite ill with it. Despite usually communicating effectively, she often doesn’t let us know if she’s feeling very ill. I realised how ill she was when she actually woke me in the night.

Do her 'food intolerances' include coeliac disease? As this puts you at higher risk (as the spleen can be affected in auto immune conditions, which lowers immunity).

@ChittyChittyBoomBoom

CrocodilesCry thank you, that’s very interesting. I hadn’t thought about higher pain thresholds/communication difficulties.

Dd actually had covid last week and was quite ill with it. Despite usually communicating effectively, she often doesn’t let us know if she’s feeling very ill. I realised how ill she was when she actually woke me in the night.

No worries. Hope it made sense. Do consider having her jabbed even though she's already had it, protection from the vaccine is more reliable than infection and it's not a nice thing to have - especially as you mention her not perhaps letting you know when she's very poorly.

We got this letter this morning as well.

DS15 has Aspergers, ADHD and Anxiety, is under CAMHS for medication, and goes to a specialist school.

One friend (similar situation) suggested it might be down to how they react when ill with Covid. When DS had Covid last autumn, he was adamant he felt fine and completely normal, no symptoms at all (according to him), but was clearly not fine for about a week - completely off his food, sleeping 18 hours+ per day and ghost-like pale for about a fortnight. I can also see that if things had been worse and he had needed hospitalisation at any point, he would not have been able to cope with with being in a new place, looked after by strangers.

@careerchangeperhaps

Do her 'food intolerances' include coeliac disease? As this puts you at higher risk (as the spleen can be affected in auto immune conditions, which lowers immunity).

No she has a fructose and lactose intolerance so just ‘regular’ intolerances.

CrocodilesCry she’ll be vaccinated too 😊

@ChittyChittyBoomBoom

CrocodilesCry she’ll be vaccinated too 😊

Awesome. Hope she's feeling better too.

I got this letter too! DD has ASD (High functioning). Thank you for the thread I spent ages googling why!

I think you have been very magnanimous here @KittiesInsane. Hope you have a restful weekend

@falconQueen I had the same third dose letter. Definitely wrong! Glad I'm not the only one!!

@PiglingBlonde is it VW? Mine has it (12-15) and no letter about it.

And my child with ASC and ocd is 16 and only one dose offered. Seems really patchy.

The rest of the world is double vaccinating their kids, the arguments for a single vaccine are flimsy, especially considering one dose isn't considered as vaccinated.

We had this for our 13yo DS yesterday, saying he needed 2 doses. He has ASD and ADHD and is under CAMHS for his medications.
He's overweight though so I feel very unsure about what to do for the best, very worried about the chances of heart inflammation. About half of his class have already had Covid.
Plus he doesn't want the jab anyway!

Im glad people with autism are being offered this. My son really struggles to communicate health issues, has all kinds of sensory issues making it hard to work out what hurts and where, and he finds it hard to take pills and medicines at all so treating things is difficult and a stint in hospital would cause massive meltdowns on the ward and I am not sure staff would deal with them well. So I would like to give him the best chance at not needing treatment as Im not sure he would get it in time or tolerate it well.

@Titsywoo

We got the same today and the only similarity with you is that DS is also autistic. Surely that isn't a risk factor?

I suspect this. My dd(18) was called up much earlier than others her age for her covid vaccine. We were also told this year she could have her flu vaccine free due to ASD - we normally pay for hers.