Last updated on January 4th, 2022 at 03:35 pm
In today’s update:
- Updated Shielding Guidance
Guidance regarding staff shielding from the 16th February
On the 16th February 2021, clinicians and GPs added an additional 1.7 million people to the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) List, based on their clinical judgement; they deemed these individuals to be at high risk of serious illness if they caught the virus.
A letter was issued to inform people they matched the classification of being CEV and advising them to Shield from 16th February 2021 to 31st March, members of staff who have not received a letter are advised to attend work as normal.
Staff who are currently on the CEV list and are either Working from home or Shielding due to receiving a letter in January have had their Shielding period extended to the 31st March 2021 and will receive a letter informing them of this.
Both groups of CEV Shielders should provide a copy of their CEV confirmation letter to their line manager when they receive it and they will send a copy to HR Department.
Please note if they live in the same household as a CEV person the guidance confirms they can continue to work as normal.
IMPORTANT -Staff already identified as Clinically Extremely Vulnerable who have already received the email to book in or have already booked in for the second vaccination are still encouraged to attend their appointments. This is classed as a medical appointment and is not covered in the restriction guidance.
We have also had a number of questions from staff about when Clinically Extremely Vulnerable staff, who are Shielding, can return to work after they have had the vaccine.
The advice we have received from the NHSEI medical director team, after they consulted with PHE, is to recommend a precautionary approach. Irrespective of whether they have been vaccinated in accordance with national guidelines, those who are Clinically Extremely Vulnerable and Shielding are advised to continue to do so.
This will remain under review and we will keep in contact with colleagues at NHSEI and PHE as the guidance develops.
Please contact your line manager if you have any further queries on the new guidance.