Cohorts eligible for community COVID-19 treatments who require contact by consultants

Classification: Official
Publication approval reference: C1645_ii

On 30 May 2022, the Department of Health and Social Care published an Independent Advisory Group report which identifies cohorts deemed to be at the highest risk of an adverse COVID outcome and potentially eligible for COVID-19 treatments.

This table summarises the patients who cannot be identified digitally in national datasets and are therefore requiring contact by consultants.

Patients who are digitally identified receive direct communications from NHS England with information about COVID-19 treatments and how to access them. If these patients test positive, they should be automatically contacted by a COVID-19 medicines delivery unit (CMDU) for assessment and potential treatment.

Consultants have been asked to contact all of those who are not digitally identified. Instructions and a template letter which can be adapted for patients is available on the NHS England website. These patients will need to be referred to a CMDU if they test positive as they will not show up on CMDU systems automatically.

For the full eligibility criteria, including specific criteria related to clinical conditions in this table, please refer to the clinical commissioning policy and Independent Advisory Group report.

More information on the digital pathway and methodology is available on the NHS Digital website.

 

Cohort Patients requiring contact by consultants [1] [2]
Down’s syndrome and other genetic disorders
  • People with other chromosomal disorders known to affect immune competence
Solid cancer
  • People with a new diagnosis of a solid cancer (in the last 6 months)
  • People who received Group B or C chemotherapy in the last 6 months
  • People who received Group A chemotherapy in the last 12 months
  • People who received radiotherapy in the last 12 months
  • People with metastatic or locally advanced inoperable cancer who have not received chemotherapy or radiotherapy
  • People who have had cancer resected within the last 12 months and who have not had chemotherapy or radiotherapy
  • People with lung cancer
Haematological diseases and recipients of haematological stem cell transplant (HSCT)
  • People with a new diagnosis of a condition (in the last 6 months)
  • People who have received a recent stem cell transplant (within the last 3 months)
  • People who received chemotherapy or radiotherapy in the last 6 months
  • People with blood cancers who have received CAR-T cell therapy in the last 24 months
  • People with non-malignant conditions of the blood who have received B-cell depleting treatments within the last 12 months
  • People with AL amyloidosis or myelofibrosis
  • People with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukaemia who are either:

‒    in molecular response, or

‒    receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitors, or

‒    in the first 6 months of chemotherapy

  • People with thalassaemia or rare inherited anaemia (further conditions for treatment eligibility apply)
Renal disease
  • People with a new diagnosis (in the last 3 months) of CKD stage 4 or 5
  • People recently started on dialysis (within the last 3 months)
  • People with severe kidney disease on treatments to suppress their immune system (if the treatment is only prescribed by their hospital) as per the IAG report
  • Anyone with severe kidney disease newly started on immunosuppressants where this is prescribed in the community (within the last 1 month)
Liver diseases
  • People with a new diagnosis of cirrhosis of the liver (within the last 3 months)
  •  People with liver disease on treatments that suppress their immune system (if the treatment is only prescribed by their hospital) as per the IAG report
  • People with liver disease newly started on immunosuppressants where this is prescribed in the community (within the last 1 month)
Solid organ transplant recipients
  • All recent recipients of a solid organ transplant (within the last 3 months)
Immune-mediated inflammatory disorders People with an autoimmune or inflammatory condition who have:

Immunosuppressive medication (if the treatment is only prescribed by their hospital)

  • B-cell depleting therapy
  • uncontrolled/clinically active disease
  • involvement or impairment of the kidneys, liver or lungs

People with an autoimmune or inflammatory condition who are on the following treatments:

  • Cyclophosphamide
  • JAK inhibitors
  • Biologic therapies

People with an autoimmune or inflammatory condition who are on the following treatments (prescribed by the hospital only):

  • Azathioprine
  • Mercaptopurine

People with an autoimmune or inflammatory condition who are on methotrexate (for interstitial lung disease ONLY)
Immune deficiencies People with:

  • a new diagnosis (within the last 3 months)
  • autoimmune polyglandular syndromes
  • autoimmune polyendocrinopathy
  • candidiasis
  • ectodermal dystrophy (APECED syndrome)
HIV/AIDS
  • People with a new diagnosis of HIV/AIDS (within the last 3 months)
  • People who have not listed their HIV status on GP records
Rare neurological and severe complex life-limiting neurodisability conditions
  • People with a new diagnosis (within the last 3 months) of any of the listed conditions:

‒    multiple sclerosis

‒    motor neurone disease

‒    myasthenia gravis

‒    Huntington’s disease

 

[1] Consultants may have already written to some of these patients. Those patients do not need to be contacted again.

[2] Some patients listed here may also be digitally identified and contacted directly by NHS England. However, due to various time lags with datasets being updated, we are asking consultants to write to all those listed in this table to help ensure all patients receive the information they need.