Relief and delight for people with learning disabilities as they receive coronavirus vaccine

  • Watch a report from ITV Anglia's Tanya Mercer

A woman with learning disabilities from Suffolk has said she is "looking forward" to returning to outdoor activities having finally had her coronavirus vaccine.

Angela Rampley, from Stowmarket, is one of thousands to have received their first dose in the past fortnight, following a u-turn by the committee which advises the government on vaccination priority.

On 24 February, the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations (JCVI) advised that people with severe learning disabilities should be added to priority group six, following a campaign spearheaded by DJ Jo Whiley.

Her sister Frances contracted the virus in her care home in Northamptonshire last month; in a tweet the Radio 2 presenter said: "I’ve just been asked to book my vaccine. I desperately wish my sister had been offered the vaccine before me."

Jo Whiley said she was offered the vaccine before her sister Frances Credit: PA

Ms Rampley said that before she was offered the vaccine she had felt "forgotten".

"I wasn't very pleased. I was disappointed, upset", she added.

"Because I had the vaccine...I’m looking forward to going to activities like sailing and different things."

People with learning disabilities were six times more likely to die with Covid-19 than the general population during the first wave of the pandemic, according to research from the University of Bristol.

Abbie Oliver-Wilson, whose brother Jack Wilson had his first jab in Suffolk this week, said the need for people with learning disabilites to get the vaccine was clear.

She said: "The statistics are there that he needs to have it, so when he wasn’t eligible it was heartbreaking and it was disgusting.

"When he’s going to his day centre it gives him a little bit more reassurance, makes him feel a bit safer, and everyone there feel a bit safer as well."

Angela Rampley said she was "very pleased" to have received her first dose Credit: ITV Anglia

Health officials are now contacting those on the learning disabled register to invite them for a jab.

Lianne Nunn, from Suffolk and North East Essex CCG, said they will look to be as flexible as possible to accommodate those who do not feel comfortable in a mass vaccination centre.

She said: "We’ve been working really hard to look at alternative options, which may include a specialist clinic with a learning disability nurse, opportunities where we’ll go out to peoples homes if that’s the right option for that person."

People with learning disabilities have been encouraged to phone their GP to check they are on the register and are eligible.