Kidney patients at more risk than over-80s

ONE in 30 kidney dialysis patients has died of coronavirus, prompting urgent calls they should be prioritised for vaccination.

So far, 662 of 20,000 dialysis patients have succumbed to the infection, according to the charity Kidney Care UK.

Another 564 people who received kidney transplants have also lost their lives to coronavirus, bringing the overall death toll among those with serious renal problems to more than 1,200.

Last night, Dr Graham Lipkin, president of the Renal Association, said: ‘There are 56,000 people in the UK who are either on dialysis or who have had transplants.

‘They have been hit hard by Covid. We need to protect them now we have a vaccine. Half those on dialysis are 40 or under and many have young families.

‘It’s a fact a man or woman under 40 on dialysis is four times more likely to die from Covid than a man of 80. We are losing three to five people a day.

‘ We want these patients to be brought up to the highest vaccine prioritisation group as their risk from Covid is the same as – if not higher than – people in nursing homes.’

The Covid-19 virus is thought to wreak havoc in kidneys by clotting the blood.

Under the current system, kidney patients will have to wait until at least nine million others – all those 75 and over, plus care home residents and health and social care workers – have received the jab, likely to take until at least January.