Shielding not effective as hoped, people eight times more likely to get COVID-19

People advised to shield during the first wave of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic were eight times more likely to get infected and five times more likely to die following confirmed infection than the general population , according to a new study. The researchers said that those at moderate risk were four times more likely to have Covid-19 and five times more likely to die following confirmed infection than the low-risk group.

“In spite of the shielding strategy , high-risk individuals were at increased risk of death. Furthermore , to be effective as a population strategy , shielding criteria would have needed to be widely expanded to include other criteria , such as the elderly ,” the study said.

During the early pandemic days , many Western countries used shielding , or extended self-isolation , to protect people presumed to be at high risk from Covid-19 and reduce strain on health infrastructure. The study , led by the University of Glasgow , investigated the effectiveness of the shielding strategy by comparing Covid-19 outcomes among shielded and unshielded individuals in the West of Scotland.

The researchers looked at data between March and May 2020 from 1.3 million patients registered with GP practices in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC). About 2.03% of the registered patients were advised to shield while nearly 27% were classified as a moderate risk due to health conditions such as diabetes. Among the shielded group , 299 (1.1%) confirmed infections and 140 deaths (0.51%) were reported.

The findings suggest that the strategy may not have been as effective at protecting those at the highest risk from infection and death as hoped. Professor Jill Pell , director of the University of Glasgow’s Institute of Health and Wellbeing and co-author of the study , said in a statement that shielding should be used alongside other population-wide measures such as physical distancing , face coverings and hand hygiene to protect high-risk individuals.

“Our study also showed that shielding may be of limited value in reducing burden on health services because , in spite of the shielding strategy , high risk individuals were at increased risk of death ,” she added.

The study titled ‘Comparison of COVID-19 outcomes among shielded and non-shielded populations’ has been published in Scientific Reports. Hindustan Times