We have updated our information and guidance about lupus and COVID19 - lupusuk.org.uk/coronavirus/
From today an additional 1.7 million people in England have been added to the "clinically extremely vulnerable" list and advised to shield (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have yet to make an announcement about whether they will do the same).
This means that some people with lupus who previously haven't been advised to shield may now receive a letter. We don't currently know how many people with lupus this may affect.
We have a range of other resources worth checking out too;
Lupus & COVID-19 Vaccination:
lupusuk.org.uk/covid19-vacc...
Returning to work:
Looking after your well-being:
lupusuk.org.uk/isolation-we...
Available support:
lupusuk.org.uk/coronavirus-...
LUPUS UK COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund:
Thanks Paul, it will be interesting to see what the additional criteria is with regards to the new health conditions added onto the list
Lupus (SLE) is explicitly included under 'Health conditions and treatments/Autoimmune and haematological' conditions though the 'risk assessment' is a calculation based on multiple factors so presumably SLE alone won't mean anyone will move into the shielding category unless it's broken down by severity (it's impossible to tell from the info given...there is a calculator tool but you need a HSC ID to access it) xxx
Thank you for the above information x
Hi eekt,
That's right. A diagnosis of SLE alone will not mean that you are categorised as "clinically extremely vulnerable" and added to the Shielded Patient List.
I've exchanged emails with Dr Megan Rutter this morning and she has tested the model on a few different "case studies" and it doesn't seem that SLE is very heavily weighted, meaning that by itself, it doesn't significantly increase your risk. As a result, we don't anticipate many people from our community will be added to the Shielded Patient List - although that stands to be seen.
Thanks Paul, great stuff and very fine work you do for us all! Thank you! xxx
Thanks Paul. Do you know if APS will be on the list? It doesn’t ever seem to be mentioned during all this week pandemic which surprises me as it’s a clotting condition.
Hi Bobbydoodle. This new model does consider thrombosis and pulmonary embolism as risk factors when assessing people - however, we don't know what weight they have been given and therefore how much of a risk they represent in isolation.