Conditions that put people at a higher risk include:
- long-term lung conditions (such as severe asthma, COPD, bronchiectasis and cystic fibrosis)
- long-term conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels (such as congenital heart disease, heart failure and peripheral arterial disease)
- long-term kidney disease
- long-term liver conditions (such as cirrhosis and hepatitis)
- conditions affecting the brain or nerves (such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, cerebral palsy or stroke)
- severe or multiple learning disabilities
- Down’s syndrome
- diabetes
- problems with the spleen or the spleen has been removed (splenectomy)
- severe obesity (a BMI of 40 or above)
- severe mental conditions (such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder)
- a condition or treatment that makes you more likely to get infections
- a condition your doctor advises puts you at high risk
People who have a severely weakened immune system are also at higher risk.
- a blood cancer (such as leukaemia or lymphoma)
- a weakened immune system due to a treatment (such as steroid medicine, biological therapy, chemotherapy or radiotherapy)
- an organ or bone marrow transplant
- a condition that means you have a very high risk of getting infections
