Healthcare professionals in the UK refer to the JCVI's 'Green Book' when adding patients into priority groups for vaccinations. In the July 2021 update to the dedicated chapter on COVID-19, Addison's disease has been added to a risk group that should receive COVID-19 immunisation.

The ADSHG welcomes this new development. Featuring in the Green Book in this way gives hope of greater support for those with Addison's disease in future prioritisations for any COVID-19 booster vaccines that might be rolled out in the coming months. It should be noted that 'adrenal insufficiency isn't specifically mentioned in the updated chapter. We will continue to push for this clarification.

Download or print the above page (page 14) from the JCVI Green Book

History

As many of you experienced first hand, when COVID-19 hit and vaccination groups were first announced, as Addison's was so rare it wasn't specifically mentioned so some people were struggling to get a vaccination. This is why our Clinical Panel co-authored this statement in support of vaccine prioritisation for people with adrenal insuficiency to assist those not placed in a a priority grouping by their healthcare team.

Then after much contact with the JCVI, we were notified in May this year that Addison's disease and adrenal insufficiency should be in vaccine prioritisation group 6. It took some time for GP systems and processes to incoporate this guidance, resulting in continued mixed results for people in our community in accessing the vaccine during the group 6 rollout earlier this year. 

Why this is important

Early in the pandemic we advised, on our dedicated COVID-19 advice page that athough those with adrenal insufficiency weren't at greater risk of catching COVID-19, they could become more severely unwell, their bodies demanded high levels of "sick day" dosing, and they were at risk of an adrenal crisis if they developed coronavirus. So it was vital our community were offering the vaccine in group 6 to help keep them safe. We continue to recommend vaccination to people with adrenal insufficiency. We will keep you informed of any firm plans set out by UK and ROI governments around further COVID-19 vaccination programmes on our decidated ADSHG vaccines page.

Behind the scenes here at the ADHSG the whole time we were working to get Addison's officially included in the JCVI so our community would be automatically invited. This was a slow process due to how busy the JCVI were but this is now confirmed.

Looking Forward

This is a positive development. Featuring in the Green Book in this way gives hope of greater support for those with Addison's disease in future prioritisations for any COVID-19 booster vaccines that might be rolled out in the coming months. It also gets Addison's on JCVI's radar, so in the future Addison's won't be forgotten or left out due to being a rare disease. Here at ADSHG we will continue to work with JCVI, such as making sure 'adrenal insufficiency' is also specifically mentioned in the updated chapter. 

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