There is  ambiguity as to whether or not patients on immunosuppressant medication have better survival from coronavirus infection.

Given that there is no immunity in the population to this virus infection, people on and off immunosuppressants both have high risk of contracting the infection.

The health service executive has included immunocompromised people as being at risk of severe coronavirus infection.

Nonetheless, clinical trials are ongoing in other countries, where it is considered that appropriate use of immunosuppressant medication is in fact life-saving, for the small percentage of people who have a potentially fatal coronavirus infection.

In this instance, I am recommending that people continue on their current immunosuppressant medication, and stop at the time of an infection.

Traditionally, we recommend that people hold immunosuppressant medication, if and when they become infected, to facilitate their body fighting off the infection.

This does not apply to people who are on maintenance dose corticosteroids (prednisolone, Deltacortril, dexamethasone, et cetera), who will at least need to stay on their maintenance corticosteroid, if not increase the dose to a stress dose as advised by their doctor.