DJ Jo cries over jab joy for sister
JO WHILEY said she was “crying with joy” after vaccine experts called on the Government to invite all people on GPs’ Learning Disability Registers for a jab.
The Radio 2 DJ highlighted the case of her sister Frances, 53, who has a genetic disorder and had Covid in her care home.
Jo was angry that she herself – well and aged 55 – was offered a shot while her sister and people in similar situations were not. Frances is recovering with her parents.
The Joint Committee onVaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) yesterday said that adults with severe and profound learning disabilities, and those with learning disabilities in long-stay nursing and residential care, should be offered inoculation in priority group 6 – those with Down’s syndrome are in group 4.
That means 150,000 extra people would be eligible immediately.
Jo wrote online: “Crying with joy. For all those with a [learning disability] who’ve lost their lives & for those who thought they’d been forgotten.We DO care and weWILL protect you.”
She also thanked the Mencap charity and added: “Frances would like to say a huge thank you to everybody who has helped. It’s hard to believe we’ve gone from discussing palliative care on Friday night to sitting on her favourite bench drinking cups of tea.”
Adults with less severe learning disabilities are not currently prioritised.
But JCVI officials warned that GP systems may not always capture the severity of a disability. The committee called for the analysis to be updated.
Professor Wei Shen Lim, its Covid chairman, said: “People who are severely affected by learning disabilities are at higher risk of death from Covid-19.”