Controversies regarding shielding and susceptibility to COVID-19 disease in liver transplant recipients in the United Kingdom.

December 2019 saw the emergence of a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which rapidly escalated to a global pandemic 1 , with an unprecedented impact on healthcare systems worldwide. The objective of this case series is to report on SARS-CoV-2 infection in liver transplant recipients and discuss the role of immunosuppression, comorbidities and shielding. In the UK, transplant recipients were classified as individuals vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection due to immunosuppression. They were advised in late March 2020 (Figure 1) by Public Health England to take additional social distancing precautions, a process referred to as 'shielding' 2 . This is a more rigorous form of isolation that requires the individual to not leave their place of residence or come into contact with others. In essence, completely isolate to minimise the risk of being exposed to SARS-CoV-2.