Does whether you’re advised to shield or not depend on your RA diagnosis or the medications you take for it? I’m asking because I had a letter originally, then a letter telling me to ignore the first letter. I had to stop taking the usual DMARDS due to intolerances which just left me with my IM Depo-Medrone steroid jabs every 3 months. I’m confused. Are the people who are shielding on biologics? I’m not concerned, just interested.
I had my first AstraZeneca Covid jab on Tuesday, funnily enough in a closed down Chinese restaurant (someone did say, did you want another one half an hour later 🤣). Actually, there was a fish & chip shop next door doing a roaring trade. Nic xx
It’s much more nuanced than that and essentially ‘points based’, with the need to shield depending on a combination of regular meds, steroid use, age, and any other underlying comorbidities a person has. I take 2 DMARDs considered immunosupressing for covid vulnerability purposes, and was taking prolonged oral steroids at the start of the pandemic, so initially met shielding requirements on the grounds of the steroids alone. Since then, though, I’ve remained CEV because in addition to the 2 DMARDs, I also have a non-rheumatological comorbidity that bumps my risk points up. This may change further for some people with the new modelling that takes other socioeconomic factors into account alongside age and clinical vulnerabilities, but the existing point system is as follows: