After a study done by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that people with learning disabilities were at a greater risk of death from Covid-19, everyone who is on the learning disability register will now be prioritised to have a coronavirus vaccination, following a recommendation from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has welcomed the advice from the JCVI, which advised the government to prioritise people with Down syndrome and those with “severe and profound learning disabilities, and those with learning disabilities residing in residential care.”
In response to the recommendations Mr Hancock said he is instructing the NHS “to ensure that everyone on the Learning Disability Register is invited for vaccination as part of cohort 6.”
“I know how worried many with learning disabilities, and their loved ones, have been. So I warmly welcome this JCVI advice that everyone on the GP Learning Disability Register should now be jabbed in cohort 6.”
“I’ve asked the NHS to implement immediately.”
