Covid: People living with learning disabilities should be prioritised for booster jab, charity says

People with a learning disability should be offered the coronavirus booster vaccine first, a charity has said.

Mencap urged vaccination experts to ensure that those at high-risk were offered the vaccine as a priority in any potential booster campaign in the autumn.

The call comes after a new study found that people with learning disabilities had “markedly increased risks” of hospital admission and death from Covid-19.

Experts, led by academics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, assessed data on more than 14 million people, including 90,000 on the learning disability register.

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The study, published in The BMJ, found that people with learning disabilities with Covid-19 were five times more likely to be admitted to hospital and eight times more likely to die compared with the general population of England.

Commenting on the study, Dan Scorer, head of policy and public affairs at Mencap, said: “The BMJ’s findings provide further evidence of the shocking health inequalities faced by people with a learning disability during the pandemic.

“People with a learning disability have long been forgotten about and discriminated against, and never more so than in this crisis.

“As we move into a new phase of the pandemic, it’s critical that the Government prioritises everyone with a learning disability for booster jabs in the autumn.

“Despite the shockingly high death rate of people with a learning disability from Covid-19, it’s not clear whether they will be prioritised.

“The Government and NHS must also raise awareness of the Learning Disability Register and the benefits of being on it amongst people with a learning disability and their families, as being on the register has many benefits and entitles people to annual health checks, as well as the flu jab to help keep them safe and well.

“We also urge the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to include disabled young people in the vaccine programme, as is happening in other countries.

“This is particularly important for young people who are clinically extremely vulnerable and who are extremely worried about the final stage of lockdown easing in just a few days’ time.”