Covid rules: Millions of clinically extremely vulnerable people advised to follow guidance after Plan B ends

Millions of clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) people are still being advised to follow Covid guidance including working from home and social distancing even after Plan B restrictions have ended, i has learned.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday that work from home orders were being dropped with immediate effect and that other restrictions such as face masks will be phased out in England from next week as the UK returns to Plan A.

But there was no mention of guidance for the clinically extremely vulnerable, who were originally told to “shield” during the first lockdown in March 2020 and have had to live cautiously ever since.

The Government website was updated on Wednesday to say that “England will fully return to Plan A on Thursday 27 January thanks to the success of the booster programme”, adding: “From now, people will no longer be required to work from home.”

The website also makes no mention of clinically vulnerable people or any suggestion that certain groups should still follow Covid guidance.

However, i can reveal that the 3.7 million people in England classed as clinically extremely vulnerable are still advised to follow Covid guidance that was issued before Christmas at the height of the Omicron wave.

Baroness Brinton, a Liberal Democrat peer who herself is classed as clinically extremely vulnerable, was informed yesterday by Lord Kamall, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), that Covid guidance is still in place for high-risk groups.

Lord Kamall had previously told Baroness Brinton when pressed on the matter on Tuesday that he was unsure and would get back to her.

A letter sent to the Lib Dem peer yesterday from Lord Kamall’s office, seen by i, said: “Thank you for raising the important point of ensuring people who continue to be at higher risk from Covid-19 receive the right advice and interventions. Apologies for not sharing the information with you sooner.

“On 24 December, the Government published new advice for people whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious illness from Covid-19.

“This advice remains in place and the Government would encourage people who have been identified as eligible for a third primary dose of the Covid-19 vaccine or as eligible for new treatments for Covid-19 to read and follow this advice.”

The Government has made no formal announcement that the guidance remains in place and clinically vulnerable people i spoke to said they were not aware that this was the case.

Guidance uploaded to the Government website on 24 December stated that people aged 12 and over whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious illness from Covid should still follow certain guidelines.

Those include working from home where possible, asking visitors to wear facemasks and take lateral flow tests, ventilating their homes, washing their hands regularly, practicing social distancing and avoiding crowded enclosed spaces.

Those considered at a particularly high risk from Covid illness include people with certain types of cancer, people who have received organ transplants, and people with autoimmune disease, among others.

Douglas Kerr, who is considered clinically extremely vulnerable after receiving a kidney transplant last year, said he had received no communication from the Government about Covid guidelines since September.

Mr Kerr, 57, from Plymouth in Devon, told i yesterday that the relaxation of Plan B measures meant he would have to “rethink” his daily life, adding that some people had been left “in tears” after Boris Johnson’s announcement on Wednesday.

“All through the decision-making the vulnerable have been left out. And now we’ve been left out again. The immunosuppressed and clinically vulnerable are not overreacting. The removal of restrictions for me personally is going to make me have to rethink the way I’m living,” he said.

The Clinically Vulnerable and Clinically Extremely Vulnerable Families group, which has around 5,000 members, said the fact that they had not been told they should still follow Covid guidance was “unbelievable”.

Baroness Brinton told i she was “not surprised” that clinically vulnerable people had not been contacted because “every time the Government has lifted restrictions all the focus is on the good news, as if it is the same for everyone”. 

“Every time the Prime Minister issues a ‘Freedom Day’ announcement the clinically extremely vulnerable are thrown to the wolves because nobody explains to them, their families or the wider public about what they should do,” she added.

“Despite repeated attempts by myself, and by the charities working with the CEV and the severely CEV, there has been no will by ministers to get the message out to the 3.7m people affected.

“The advice on the website is highly specific and we know that CEV workers and their employers need to know the extra risk they face. “

The DHSC was approached for comment.