Question reference: S5W-29704
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 8 June 2020
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Current status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 17 June 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W–29296 by Christina McKelvie on 2 June 2020, how it defines people who are at risk from COVID-19, and whether this group includes all blind and partially-sighted people who require being guided to navigate public spaces.
Answer
Scottish Government has used the term at risk rather than vulnerable to reflect that a lot of people who do not consider themselves vulnerable may, due to a range of circumstances, which may or may not be medical, find themselves at greater risk from Covid-19 than the wider population.
This could mean they are at greater risk of contracting the disease or at risk because they are unable to afford and/or access food, essential supplies or services essential to their wellbeing, and do not have support networks in place to help them meet this need.
At risk groups are broadly aligned under two categories – Shielded and Non-Shielded at Risk. Definitions of these groups are outlined below.
Shielded
The Shielded Group are those who we are clinically at highest risk from COVID-19 and are being asked to stringently self-isolate until the end of July. There are currently in the region of 160,000 people in this group. These people include:
- Solid organ transplant recipients
- People with specific cancers:
-people with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy or radical radiotherapy for lung cancer
-people with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment
- people having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer
- people having other targeted cancer treatments which can affect the immune system, such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors
- people who have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months, or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs
- People with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe COPD.
- People with rare diseases, including all forms of Interstitial Lung Disease/Sarcoidosis, and inborn errors of metabolism that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as SCID, homozygous sickle cell).
- People on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection.
- Women who are pregnant with significant heart disease, congenital or acquired.
The Non-Shielded at Risk (NSAR)
The Non-Shielded at Risk are, a group of people at an increased risk in terms of the impact of Covid 19 than the general population, who may be unable to afford and/or access food and/or essential supplies and/or access services essential to their wellbeing and do not have support networks in place which can meet this need.
This will include those:
- Likely to experience short term impacts, such as those who are:
- Symptomatic and self-isolating
- Asymptomatic and self-isolating due to a household member being ill.
- Undertaking enhanced distancing such as older people, people with underlying health conditions which means they receive an annual flu-jab (aside from those shielding) and pregnant women
- Disabled people, including blind people, and those who used to rely on online shopping for food and other essentials but can no longer obtain delivery slots, or who relied on formal or informal social care to provide food regularly.
- Experiencing a sudden and extreme loss in earnings or income which means they can no longer afford food and essentials.
Struggling to afford food and essentials before COVID and for whom the situation will not have improved. There are around 2.88 million people considered to be at an increased risk as a result of Coronavirus in Scotland. This is likely to include many blind and partially-sighted people.