What assessment it has made of the number of people who are clinically vulnerable and are (a) continuing to shield and (b) restricting thei…

The Public Health Scotland COVID-19 Shielding Programme impact and experience survey which was published in March 2022 reported that 81% of respondents still make decisions that are mainly influenced by fear of COVID-19 infection, and 36% still try to minimise all physical contact with other households. While this data relates to a survey completed between 25 October 2021 and ? 7 November 2021, we know there are still people who continue to limit activities and contacts with other households.

The advice for people to shield was paused on the 1 August 2020. Since 19 July 2021 the Chief Medical Officer has advised people on the Highest Risk List to follow the same guidance and take the same precautionary measures as the rest of the population, unless advised otherwise by their GP or clinician who will understand their health condition and individual circumstances best.
The Highest Risk List (previously Shielding List) ended on 31 May 2022. The decision to end the list was based on evidence of the impact of vaccinations and treatments, which lowered the risk from COVID-19 for everyone in Scotland (including those who were on the Highest Risk List). The evidence to support the decision was published in our Evidence Review , which was also shared with GPs, clinicians and other healthcare partners in order to assist with discussions with patients about their risks.
We know there are a number of people who remain at higher risk of COVID-19, for example, people who are immunosuppressed because of a medical condition or treatment. We have published guidance for these people, giving information about access to support and steps they can take to safely participate in activities they enjoyed before the pandemic.
The Chief Medical Officer also wrote to everyone on the Highest Risk List to make them aware of their risks following vaccination. This included letting people know if they were no longer considered highest risk based on what we know now about COVID-19 as well as the treatments available.
People who remain at higher risk from COVID-19 may be eligible for new treatments such as antivirals or antibody treatments as well as additional booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Before we ended the Highest Risk List, we ensured we had a robust identification process in place in order to continue to quickly and accurately people who should be prioritised for vaccination, for treatments and, if the threat level increases, for additional protective advice. We are therefore able to respond very quickly if the situation around COVID-19 changes, in order to protect people who remain at highest risk.
Public Health Scotland will continue to identify people at highest risk with the help of the NHS. If needed, we could again write to people at highest risk and reopen the text messaging service used before.
In line with our Staying Safe and Protecting Others guidance , we continue to strongly encourage people and businesses to take sensible precautions to protect themselves and others. This includes choosing to wear face coverings where and when appropriate, alongside following advice on hand hygiene and ventilation. The Distance Aware scheme is also available to anyone who wants to signal to others they would like more space around them.
We continue to engage with a number of charities and organisations who work with, and provide support to, people who were on the Highest Risk List, and people who remain at higher risk from COVID-19.
We know many people need more time to consider their risk of COVID-19 in order to gradually resume the activities they enjoyed before the pandemic.