What consideration has the Minister given to including patients who have had their spleen removed on the shielding list and what is the outcome of his considerations?
We have taken unprecedented steps in Wales to identify people at very high risk of serious illness if they are exposed to coronavirus and to support them.
The process to identify people in this “shielded” group ongoing – further letters have been issued by the Chief Medical Officer in the last week.
The specific conditions which underpin the shielding group has been agreed jointly by the four UK CMOs. They regularly review the evidence and will add new groups to the list, if the evidence supports this. Groups will also be removed if the evidence suggests the extreme act of shielding is not proportionate to the risk of contracting coronavirus.
The evidence about whether people who have had their spleen removed should be shielding is currently being looked at. For now, these people are advised to follow the social distancing guidance stringently.
It is important to note that GPs (and now hospital doctors) are able to add people to the list if they feel people are at high risk due to a serious existing health condition.