Following a campaign by Jo Whiley, a BBC radio DJ, who appeared on the Andrew Marr show on 21 February 2021 and various other TV programmes about how Covid-19 was affecting her sister Francis who has learning disabilities, Public Health England published on 24 February 2021 a news story titled JCVI advises inviting people on Learning Disability Register for vaccine.
Adults with less severe learning disabilities are not currently prioritised.
However, the government recognises that GP systems may not always capture the severity of someone’s disability, meaning some adults who are more severely affected by learning disabilities may not be invited for vaccination alongside people with other long-term health conditions.
To ensure those most at risk of death or hospitalisation are prioritised for vaccination, JCVI supports the plan to invite anyone on the GP Learning Disability Register – as well as adults with other related conditions, including cerebral palsy – for vaccination as part of priority group 6.
This will mean at least 150,000 more people with learning disabilities will now be offered the vaccine more quickly.
The news story can be accessed here.
Mencap, describe themselves as the leading voice of learning disability. They have a webpage titled” Don’t Miss Out: Join the learning disability register”, which has downloadable easy read guides and posters about joining the learning disability register.
These resources are available for people with learning disabilities and for local VCSE organisations who may want to help the people they support get on the learning disability register. They can be accessed here.