Coronavirus: Vaccination

(asked on 14th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of access to covid-19 vaccines for (a) people with learning disabilities and (b) autistic people, with particular reference to people living in in-patient settings.


Answered by
Nadhim Zahawi Portrait
Nadhim Zahawi
This question was answered on 22nd December 2020

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the independent body of clinical experts, advise the Government on which vaccine/s the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation including for the COVID-19 vaccine.

The vaccine is initially being rolled out to priority groups considered to be the most at risk and frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and risk, including those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and all individuals aged 16-64 years old with underlying health conditions. The JCVI’s advice is published at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/940396/Priority_groups_for_coronavirus__COVID-19__vaccination_-_advice_from_the_JCVI__2_December_2020.pdf

People with a learning disability who are clinically extremely vulnerable, including adults with Down's syndrome, and people with a severe and profound learning disability are prioritised to receive the vaccine; and are within fourth and sixth vaccine prioritisation groups respectively. This applies to all care settings, and many younger adults in residential care settings will be eligible for a prioritised vaccine because they fall into one of the clinical risk groups, for example learning disabilities. Given the high risk of exposure in these settings, where a high proportion of the population would be considered eligible, prioritised vaccination of the whole resident population is recommended.

Throughout the pandemic officials from the Department have joined regular fortnightly meetings with learning disability and autism stakeholders to discuss the response to the pandemic and its impacts on people with a learning disability and autism.

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