Covid-19

Baroness Buscombe Excerpts

Thursday 28th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con) [V]]

I will pass the noble Lord’s question to the relevant Minister.

[Baroness Buscombe (Con) [V]]

My Lords, clinically extremely vulnerable shielding patients below the age of 70 who receive some private healthcare are not being given any priority to receive the vaccine, despite their critical condition. They are told by despondent clinicians and their NHS-registered GP surgeries that they must wait in the queue for their age category. I am sure there is no intention to discriminate against these incredibly ill patients. Could my noble friend the Lord Privy Seal ask the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to address this critical issue as a matter of urgency?

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con) [V]]

Many noble Lords’ contributions have shown how difficult this issue is. So many groups and individuals rightly have a claim to prioritisation of the vaccine, which is why we have been following the advice of the JCVI, which has taken all these issues into account and come up with its prioritisation list. Most importantly, that is why we are rolling out our vaccination programme as quickly and effectively as we can, so that we can reach the largest number of people as quickly as possible during this endeavour.