Worcestershire M.E. Social Group
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Contact Form
  • About M.E.
    • NHS in Worcestershire
  • Meetings
  • News Blog
    • View Blog Categories
    • News feeds
    • News Archive
  • Links
  • Search
  • Benefits

Priority Covid-19 Vaccinations for Worcestershire's Carers

28/2/2021

 
Post updated on later post.

Members of the Worcestershire Association of Carers are being contacted by the Worcestershire County Council offering a priority booking for a Covid-19 vaccination.
 
Worcestershire Association of Carers Covid-19 Announcement. 
Carers added to Covid vaccine priority list.
New Covid vaccination advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) published last week (30th December 2020) has revised its recommendations to include unpaid carers in the vaccine priority list.
It now recommends unpaid carers who get Carers Allowance or who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill should be prioritised alongside people with underlying health conditions. This means unpaid carers are now in Priority Group Six.
Receiving the Covid vaccine:
You will not need to ring your GP surgery to arrange having your vaccine - the NHS will contact you when it's your turn.
If you have not already registered with your GP as a carer, we suggest giving us a call on 0300 012 4272.  We can advise you on the best steps to take to ensure you are on the priority list.
 
The quarterly Worcestershire Association of Carers magazine "The magazine for the county’s Carers" is available to download from their website. 
 
Worcestershire County Council Coronavirus (COVID-19) information for unpaid carers.
 
For further Covid-19 Vaccinations, and ME/CFS news. 
 
For Coronavirus (Covid-19) local vaccination information see the Worcestershire County Council news items,  and for information specifically for people affected by ME/CFS see further posts on the blog.   
 
Take care, and stay safe everyone.

•  Carers  •  Coronavirus (COVID 19)  •  Local News  
•  Worcestershire County Council  •  Worcestershire M.E. Social Group



Covid-19 Vaccinations, and ME/CFS

14/2/2021

 
JCVI Priority Vaccination List (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation).

Change.org petition: Please sign the Petition - "Specify ME/CFS on the list of neurological conditions under group 6 for UK Covid19 vaccine".
 
From the petition page:
ME (or CFS as some still call it) is a chronic neurological condition that affects around 250,000 people across the UK, 75% are too unwell to work or study, 25% are completely housebound or bedbound. It has a worse quality of life score than other common conditions like cancer, but only gets 5% of the research funding that similar conditions like MS receives.  There are no effective treatments available, and patients are left trying to manage symptoms often with little medical input.
When the JCVI published the 9 priority groups for the Covid19 vaccine rollout in the UK in late 2020, chronic neurological conditions were listed under group 6.  However, when the small print was published, ME was not specifically listed, and therefore when ME patients checked with their GPs that they were on the list, many (including me) were told “the computer system has not flagged you as someone who is vulnerable and in group 6”. The ME Association, Action for ME, and ME Action UK have been clear that there is good evidence that people with ME are vulnerable to Covid19 and should be included in group 6 (some of which is listed below).
 
The ME Association has been writing to the JCVI for many weeks, only to be told that it is a matter of clinical judgement for GPs as to whether people with ME are added to the list for vaccination.  This leaves it up to the decisions of individual doctors as to whether people with ME are vaccinated, creating a postcode lottery where only those who have the capacity to write to their doctors, and who have supportive doctors who have the time to do the research about the risks that Covid19 poses to ME patients, are able to get the vaccine under group 6.  Although some ME patients have been successful in gaining their GPs support, many have not been and are worried that they will need to continue to isolate for the best part of another year until the vaccine is rolled out across the healthy population.  With the publication of the ONS statistics showing people with disabilities are much more likely to die from Covid19 this week, it seems even more farcical that people with such a disabling illness should be left off the list.
 
Therefore, with groups 5 & 6 being offered the vaccine in the coming days, it is essential that the JCVI do the following as soon as possible:
1.  Apologise to ME/CFS patients for the distress they have caused during the past few weeks.
2. Immediately amend the guidance so that ME/CFS is listed under the list of chronic neurological conditions in group 6.
3. Speak to the NHS IT department to ensure that the coding on the computer system reflects this change so that people with ME/CFS are flagged as being in group 6.
 
The medical grounds for this are listed below (from Dr Shepherd of the ME Association):
https://meassociation.org.uk/2021/02/latest-covid-19-me-cfs-and-the-jcvi-priority-vaccination-list/
1. Infections are the main trigger factor for ME/CFS.
This is well recognised, and I can supply supportive research evidence if required.
We also know from previous published research that the SARS outbreak in Toronto back in 2003 resulted in cases of an ME/CFS-like illness:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3071317/
2. New infections are a very common cause of relapse or exacerbation of ME/CFS
Again, this is well recognised by doctors who are involved in managing people with ME/CFS.
Chu et al (2019) carried out an epidemiological study into the outcome of ME/CFS and reported that infections are the commonest factor for having a deleterious impact on the course of ME/CFS:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6370741/
The fact that new infections can cause a significant exacerbation or relapse of ME/CFS is also referred to in both the CMO Working Group Report on ME/CFS and in section 1.6.4 of the new (draft) NICE clinical guideline on ME/CFS:  CMO Working Group Report:
https://meassociation.org.uk/…/uploads/CMO-Report-2002.pdf
New NICE guideline (draft):
https://www.nice.org.uk/…/gid…/documents/draft-guideline
3. Evidence from people with ME/CFS who contracted COVID-19 infections.
The ME Association has been collecting patient evidence since April last year from people with ME/CFS who have suffered a significant and/or permanent relapse of their ME/CFS symptoms after catching Covid-19.  We can supply anonymised examples if required.
4. It has been estimated that around 10% of people who catch Covid-19 develop Long Covid - a post-viral condition that is very similar to, and in some cases the same, as ME/CFS

Further recent information. 
 
ME Association:
LATEST: COVID-19, ME/CFS and the JCVI Priority Vaccination List. 
This MEA blog includes a MEA template letter for you to download, amend and send to your GP (v2).
The blog explains that the MEA had received a reply from the JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation) to the two emails that were sent in January and February. The MEA had sought clarification as to whether people with ME/CFS are included in Group 6 of the JCVI priority list for vaccination against COVID 19.
The reply from the JCVI is available in the blog - followed by Dr Charles Shepherd’s  response which includes some of the recent feedback received from people with ME/CFS who have now managed to obtain a priority vaccination or are awaiting one.
 
The JCVI are not currently willing to state that ME/CFS should be included as a specific disease in Group 6 as an underlying health condition and neurological disease.
However, they have repeated an important statement from the ‘green book’ and clearly said it only contains examples of neurological diseases and that they are not exhaustive.
More importantly, the JCVI has emphasised the green book statement which says that GPs should (not can) apply their clinical judgement when it comes to patients who have underlying health conditions that are likely to be exacerbated by COVID-19 infection.
As ME/CFS is very likely to be exacerbated by COVID-19 infection, this means that doctors cannot simply state that they are unable to place someone with ME/CFS into Group 6 because the JCVI does not allow them to do so.
 
 ME Association:
Covid Vaccinations and ME/CFS: Community Feedback!
The MEA feedback blog includes  -
1. Summary of Covid vaccination feedback.
2. MEA Trustees describe their vaccine experiences.
3. Feedback from people re: ME/CFS priority vaccination. 
 
The COVID-19 immunisation programme
Extracts from of “COVID-19 - SARS-CoV-2” sections in The Green Book Chapter 14a. ('Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination information for public health professionals'.)
 
The COVID-19 immunisation programme
12 February 2021
Provisional recommendations for the use of the vaccine
The objectives of the COVID-19 immunisation programme is to protect those who are at highest risk from serious illness or death. The Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) have set out a prioritisation for persons at risk. JCVI ranked the eligible groups according to risk, largely based on prevention of COVID-19-specific mortality.
Evidence from the UK indicates that the risk of poorer outcomes from COVID-19 infection increases dramatically with age in both healthy adults and in adults with underlying health conditions. Those over the age of 65 years have by far the highest risk, and the risk increases with age. Residents in care homes for older adults have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Table 2 sets out JCVI advice on priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination. Table 3 sets out JCVI advice on clinical risk groups for COVID-19 vaccination.
 
 
Covid-19 News from the Worcestershire County Council.
 
Extra testing to monitor and suppress spread of COVID-19 variant.  Extensive surveillance of COVID-19 has identified a small number of cases of the COVID-19 variant first discovered in South Africa, in localities across England, including the WR3 area of Worcestershire that cannot be traced back to international travel.
Working in partnership with NHS Test and Trace, every person living in the affected area over the age of 18 is strongly encouraged to take a PCR COVID-19 test as soon as possible, even if they are not showing symptoms. Testing will take place from midday Saturday 6 February and continue for two weeks.  Find out if your address is in the affected area.
 
 
For local Coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccination information see the Worcestershire County Council news items,  and for information specifically for people affected by ME/CFS see further posts on the blog.   
 
Take care, and stay safe everyone.

•  Coronavirus (COVID 19)  •  Government U.K. •  Local News  •  M.E. Association  •  N.H.S.  •  N.I.C.E. •  Worcestershire
•  Worcestershire County Council  •  Worcestershire M.E. Social Group

Our Social Group, Discussions, Forums, and the Social Media

10/2/2021

 
With the current Covid-19 situation, it is not known when our Social Group may meet again at our Lunches and Afternoon Meetings.  Dates will be on the website, when this becomes possible.  Meanwhile, you may find these Forums and Social Media information helpful.

HealthRising - Finding Answers for ME/CFS and FM.
Read the HealthRising news articles, with the opportunity of taking part in the discussion forums if you wish to become a member of HealthRising.
 
Science for ME (s4me) - Where Science and the ME/CFS Community Meet
Science for ME is an independent, patient-led, international forum for people with ME/CFS and the carers, clinicians, scientists and advocates who support us.  S4me’s goal is to provide a platform to discuss all aspects of this disease, with a special focus on science, support, and advocacy.  A place to discuss BioMedical ME/CFS research and news, general ME/CFS news and diagnostic guidelines 
 
Also, our Website contains various ME/CFS social media links you may find helpful.
 
For Coronavirus (Covid-19) local information see the Worcestershire County Council news items,  and for information specifically for people affected by ME/CFS see further posts on the blog.   
 
Take care, and stay safe everyone.

•  Coronavirus (COVID 19) 
•  Local News  •  Worcestershire 
•  Worcestershire County Council  •  Worcestershire M.E. Social Group 

    Group Blog

    • News
    • AfME/ MEA/ Government news
    • Benefits News

    Archives

    March 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    January 2008
    December 2007
    June 2004

    Categories

    All
    25% M.E. Group
    Action For ME
    A.P.P.G
    B.B.C
    Benefits
    Carers
    Children
    Coronavirus (COVID 19)
    Fibromyalgia
    Forward ME
    Fundraising
    Government U.K.
    Hereford
    Local News
    Malvern
    #MEAction
    M.E. Association
    Medical Research Council
    Meetings
    MERUK
    MP
    National Newspapers
    N.H.S.
    N.I.C.E.
    Parliament U.K.
    Post COVID Syndrome (Long COVID)
    Research
    Sleep
    The ME Trust
    Tymes Trust
    Worcester City Council
    Worcestershire
    Worcestershire County Council
    Worcestershire M.E. Social Group
    Worcestershire M.E. Support Group

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.