COVID-19 Vulnerable Groups

At present the SalivaScreen study is not accepting saliva samples from the following COVID-19 vulnerable groups:

1. elderly aged ≥ 70 years, persons in residential care, homeless people
2. Solid organ transplant recipients
3. People with specific cancers:
   • people with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy or radical radiotherapy for lung cancer
   • people with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment
   • people having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer
   • people having other targeted cancer treatments which can affect the immune system, such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors
   • people who have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months, or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs
4. People with severe respiratory conditions including cystic fibrosis, severe asthma, pulmonary fibrosis/ lung fibrosis/ interstitial lung disease and severe COPD.
5. People with rare diseases and inborn errors of metabolism that significantly increase the risk of Infections (such as SCID, homozygous sickle cell).
6. People on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection.
7. Women who are pregnant with significant heart disease, congenital or acquired.