The Scottish government should continue to support people who are most at-risk of covid-19 and make a “personal choice” to start shielding again, the Director of Glasgow University’s Institute of Health has said.

Last month Dr Gregor Smith, the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, wrote to the most vulnerable people saying they could begin to return to normality and there were “no plans” to ask them to shield again.

After publishing a study of the effectiveness of the policy during the first wave of the pandemic, Glasgow University’s Professor Jill Pell told healthandcare.scot it was “entirely appropriate” to make a personal decision to restart shielding.

“[People] should be made fully aware of their risks, they should be advised and supported to shield – but if they choose not to do it that’s up to them,” she said.

“It’s entirely appropriate that some people might decide that, in spite of the fact we’ve got vaccination, they want to protect themselves, and I think it’s entirely appropriate that we support them if they want to do that.”

Nicola Sturgeon has previously said she would not risk a return to shielding “by default”  after disabled people, unpaid carers and charities issued a plea for a cautious approach to easing restrictions.

Ahead of the country moving to level 0 restrictions on 19^th July, everyone who had been asked to shield last year was contacted by the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland to say it was no longer necessary to avoid all social contact, due to progress with the vaccination programme.

But some forms of support, including priority supermarket shops and help with essentials such as getting medicine, would remain in place.

Professor Pell said it was important to keep so-called baseline measures – such as mask-wearing and physical distancing – in place.

But she added people are entitled to “decide whether they want to be protected or whether other things are important to them.”

Research looking at people in the west of Scotland who were shielding during the first wave of the pandemic found the approach had “not been as successful as hoped”.

The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, revealed covid-19 death rates among shielders were actually five times higher than the rest of the population.

Just four in ten of the people asked to shield across Scotland said they followed the rules “stringently”, the study noted, due to complications like attending medical appointments, caring for relatives and other essential activities. 

Read more: In full: Pleas for caution from at risk Scots; Care home fears over rising community infections; Scotland shielding list expansion being considered.

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