Here you will find all news and blogs from CLDF regarding the Coronavirus.
Advice from the UK government and leading healthcare bodies is constantly changing, so please bear with us whilst we work on getting the most up-to-date and accurate information for you.
New study looks at real world effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in solid organ transplant recipients (Published 7 January 2022)| CLDF NEWS
New research, published in the scientific journal Transplantation, has looked at the effectiveness of the Pfizer and Oxford-Astra Zeneca vaccines for Covid-19 in solid organ and islet transplant recipients.
Read more here.
Treatments for people who are at greater risk of COVID-19 (Published 4 January 2022)| CLDF NEWS
Many parents of children aged 12 and over whose immune system puts them at greater risk of COVID 19 have been contacted by the NHS to inform them that they are eligible for new treatments for the virus.
Read more here.
Vaccine booster programme announcement (Published 14 September 2021)| CLDF NEWS
Today the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has updated its advice on the COVID-19 vaccine booster programme. Here we outline the details, groups it will include and a breakdown of all the different vaccination programmes currently running.
Read more here.
New study to test third COVID-19 vaccine for people with weakened immune systems (Published 25 August 2021)| CLDF NEWS
DHSC have announced the launch of a new clinical trial to investigate whether a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine for people with weakened immune systems, gives a stronger response than two doses. Read more here.
Vaccine update – immunosuppressed aged 12-15 and siblings (Published 20 July 2021 plus updates)| CLDF NEWS
The JCVI is today advising that children at increased risk of serious COVID-19 disease are offered the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. That includes children aged 12 to 15 who are immunosuppressed.
Read more here.
COVID-19 restrictions coming to an end (Published 14 July 2021)| CLDF NEWS
It’s coming to that time when the majority of restrictions across all nations will be lifted. The timing and levels of easing may vary slightly for each nation but they will generally all be following the same direction. Here we outline the information we know so far for each nation.
Read more here.
Booster COVID-19 vaccinations and data on transplant recipients (Published 02 July 2021)| CLDF NEWS
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have published a statement regarding JCVI’s interim advice on who to prioritise for a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccination later in the year. NHSBT and British Transplantation Society share data and recommendations about the effectiveness in transplant recipients.
Read more here.
JCVI recommendation for adults living with immunosuppressed adults (Published 29 March 2021)| CLDF NEWS
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised the government that adults living with adults who have weakened immune systems should be prioritised for a coronavirus vaccine.
Read more here.
Shielding advice for the clinically extremely vulnerable to stop from April (Published 18 March 2021)| CLDF NEWS
After the announcement of the pause of shielding in England from 1st April, we share further details about the update and how this affects support and advice for all four nations.
Read more here.
Scotland Shielding User Research Interviews (Published 07 January 2021)| CLDF NEWS
User researchers within the Shielding division at Scottish Government want to find out more about people’s experiences of dealing with coronavirus. This is your chance to have your voice heard and hopefully shape the future direction of the Shielding team’s response in Scotland during future stages of the pandemic.
Read more here.
Coronavirus Update (Published 05 January 2021)| CLDF NEWS
As has been the case over the last year, it is time to realign our lives again with differing levels of lockdown restrictions back in place in all nations and reintroduction of shielding. This article covers some of the updates over the last few weeks.
Read more here.
Coronavirus update and England lockdown (Published 04 November 2020)| CLDF NEWS
With news of a national lockdown in England starting tomorrow (5th November), the government have announced that they will not be asking people to shield as they were at the start of the pandemic. No nations, at this time, have reintroduced shielding.
Read more here.
Three tier system and guidance for extremely clinically vulnerable (Published 13 October 2020)| CLDF NEWS
With England now moving into a three-tier system, the government have published additional guidance for those in extremely vulnerable groups in each tier so that you can take appropriate actions, while retaining as much normality as possible. Read more here.
The pandemic and CLDF (Published 28 August 2020)| CLDF NEWS
The Covid 19 pandemic has had significant and adverse consequences, not only for our young people and families, but for CLDF itself. Read more about how the pandemic has affected the charity here in a statement from CLDF’s CEO, Alison Taylor and Chair of Trustees, Mairi Everard here.
Pause of shielding and local lockdowns – how will it work? (Published 28 July 2020)| CLDF NEWS
Soon, those across the UK will be able to come out of shielding. Here we discuss dates for the pause of shielding across the UK, advice from specialists and the impact of local restrictions and lockdowns on those shielding. Read more
Updated BSPGHAN shielding guidance (Published 07 July 2020)| CLDF NEWS
We have been informed that BSPGHAN shielding guidance has been updated due to further evidence and review of the risk and impact on those children with a liver condition. Professionals are aware they have been quite strict with their patients so far. Read more.
Covid-19 and autoimmune liver disease study (Published 25 June 2020) | CLDF NEWS
The European Reference Network (Rare Liver) have developed an anonymous survey to understand how coronavirus has affected those with autoimmune liver conditions such as autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Read more.
Coming out of shielding (Published 23 June, 2020) | CLDF NEWS
Shielding guidance was put into place to ensure that those most at risk of severe illness from coronavirus were protected. The daily number of new cases is at a much lower level which means the risk is minimal. Scientists believe that due to the negative impact of social isolation, personal economic stability, mental health and quality of life, it is proportionate to allow people to stop shielding soon.Read more about the end of shielding in all UK countries.
Review of the shielding categories (Published 17 June, 2020) | CLDF NEWS
As part of the initial response to the coronavirus outbreak thousands of children and young people with pre-existing medical conditions were advised to shield. Covid-19 was a completely new virus and professionals erred on the side of caution because of the lack of clinical evidence. Over time, we have learnt more about coronavirus and its impact on individuals. For this reason, specialists have now been able to adapt the shielding list as knowledge and experience has improved. Read more
Announcement of easing of shielding rules (Published 01 June, 2020) | CLDF NEWS
Over the weekend, the government announced sudden changes to the shielding guidance. Previously, they stated that those on the shielding list were strongly advised to stay at home at all times and avoid any face-to-face contact, until at least the end of June. As of Monday 1st June, the government have advised that those shielding are allowed outdoors. Please note at the time of writing, this only applies to England and Wales. Read more
Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales Coronavirus Update (Published 22 May, 2020) | CLDF NEWS
CLDF is aware that the 4 nations in the UK have been announcing very different decisions about the easing of lockdown, making it difficult for people to keep track of the changes applicable to them. This week we have heard about plans for Scotland and Northern Ireland. In this article we have provided a short breakdown of the key areas our families and young people may need to be aware of. Read more
Hope for a COVID-19 vaccine (Published May 19, 2020) | CLDF NEWS
Those who have had organ transplants and are immunosuppressed have been placed in the extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 category by the government. Many parents and young people cannot work and are experiencing a significant loss of income, separation from family and friends, and anxieties around the impact on their children which can all lead to negative energy and thoughts. This often isn’t helped by news coverage and interviews which concentrate on what is going wrong. Read more
University Hospital Southampton immunoCOVID19 study (Published May 18, 2020) | RESEARCH NEWS
Study to monitor COVID-19 infections in children and young people who are immunosuppressed. Many families have expressed concerns about the impact coronavirus will have on their immunosuppressed children. There are a number of studies currently taking place to try and gather this data to enable professionals to give more informed advice. Read more
Current guidance on shielding and what next (Published May 15, 2020) | CLDF NEWS
Parents are understandably questioning the current guidance around shielding. This has arisen from the new ‘Our Plan to Rebuild’ guidance released by the UK Government and the lack of information provided within it in relation to shielding and what happens after this initial advisory shielding period ends. Read more
IMPaCCt Study – Investigating the impact of Covid-19 on caregivers and patients (Published May 13, 2020) | RESEARCH NEWS
Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast and University of Aberdeen are conducting an online international survey to gain an understanding of the impact Covid-19 is having on people with a rare disease and their caregivers. Share your experiences today. Read more
The impact of Covid-19 on organ donation and transplants (Published May 12, 2020) | CLDF NEWS
The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the UK’s organ donation and transplantation services in two ways – it is even less likely that someone will be able to donate their organs when they die and there has been a significant reduction in the number of organ transplants taking place. Read more
Update regarding latest government guidance and shielding (Published May 12, 2020) | CLDF NEWS
Over the last few days there have been several announcements by both Westminster and the devolved governments about next steps in relation to Covid-19. Unfortunately, while a recovery strategy has been published by the Government, the guidance within this is not the same for all four home nations. This has understandably led to some confusion for UK residents and what guidance they should be following. Read more
CLDF statement regarding calls from medical professionals (Published April 3, 2020) | CLDF NEWS
We are aware that some parents of children in the extremely vulnerable group are receiving calls from GP surgeries and other medical professionals about Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR) forms. Read more
‘Coffee & Catch Up’ for Children and Families (Published April 3, 2020) | CLDF NEWS
Calling all CLDF parents and children!
On Thursday 9th April at 2pm we are holding our very first Coffee and Catch Up. This will be hosted by the Support team on Zoom and will be our very first virtual families meet up.
It will be your opportunity to catch up with friends or meet new liver families and chat about everything that has been happening lately. From being in lockdown and the impact on your lives to sharing ideas and resources for schooling your children at home. It will also be an opportunity to just see other parents and children who are going through very similar things at this time.
If you want to be join us then please e-mail us on families@childliverdisease.org and we will send you an invite. To ensure that everyone who attends has the chance to get involved we are limiting it to 20 places so please get in touch now to book your place. Don’t worry if you miss out on this first one as we are planning to hold them on a regular basis.
So, get your coffee brewing and we can’t wait to see you all on Thursday!
Information for extremely vulnerable groups (Published March 23, 2020) | CLDF NEWS
On Saturday 21st March, Government have provided updated guidance for protecting people defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable to coronavirus (COVID-19). Those that fall into these categories are referred to as extremely vulnerable and should now be shielding for at least 12 weeks. Read more.
Coronavirus update for parents (Published March 18, 2020) | CLDF NEWS
The latest Government guidance advises those who are at increased risk of severe illness from coronavirus to be particularly stringent in fully following social distancing measures. Please read and follow all of the detailed guidance stated here. As far as we are concerned all the children and young people we exist to support would fall into this category. Read more.
Blog Posts
Positive news blog (Published 22 July, 2020) | CLDF BLOGS
Throughout this unprecedented and anxiety-inducing time of unknowns and negative news stories, we want to regularly share some positive news and recent headlines so that we can keep fighting this battle and share some hope. Read more.
Coming out of lockdown and shielding – how do we integrate back into a new world? (Published 3 July, 2020) | CLDF BLOGS
While coming out of shielding is something that everyone has been looking forward to, there are also a lot of fears and anxieties about how to adapt to this new world that you haven’t been around in many months. Here are some tips and advice on how to manage coming out of lockdown and shielding. Read more.
Your family’s emotional wellbeing and mental health (Published April 09, 2020) | CLDF BLOGS
Mental health is just as important as physical health during these unprecedented and uncertain times. In this blog, we provide advice and signposting on how to manage emotions and anxiety for the whole family. Read more.
Talking to your child about COVID-19 (Published March 27, 2020) | CLDF BLOGS
With all the uncertainty and mixed messages about coronavirus, it can be difficult explaining the situation to children with liver conditions, as they may have questions such as “why do I need to use a separate bathroom?” or “why are people staying away from me?” Read more.
Navigating a New World for Young People (Published March 25, 2020) | CLDF BLOGS
You have always had to consider things that other children/young people don’t. You will have experience of being very poorly from infections that wouldn’t have much effect on other children who don’t have a liver condition. So, it is even more essential to restrict your access to people who may have the virus and not know it because there is a risk that the virus will have more of an impact on those with an underlying health condition. Read more.
Coping with a new normal for families (Published March 24, 2020) | CLDF BLOGS
During this new way of living and working, it’s important to think about how coronavirus (COVID-19) will impact your family, those children with a chronic liver condition and those on immunosuppressant medication.
Here are some of things you need to think about during this time. Read more.
