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Covid-19 vaccine prioritisation

Comment published

Responding to the announcement that a Covid-19 vaccine has been approved in the UK, with vaccinations to begin next week, Sam Royston, Director of Policy and Research, at the end of life charity Marie Curie, said:

“The news today about vaccines is to be celebrated and will bring some much-needed hope to the country. It is right that health and social care workers are high on the priority list, and we are pleased that staff working in hospice care are now explicitly mentioned in this group. We look forward to the vaccine reaching staff working in hospices and community providers of end of life care as soon as possible.
 

 “However, we are concerned that people living with terminal illness have not received the highest prioritisation in the advice issued today.  It would be unforgivable if, due to a lack of prioritisation, terminally ill people died before their time, and families be robbed of the precious time they have left with their loved ones.

 “Earlier in the year many people with a terminal illness were not included on the shielding lists. The JCVI must not let them slip through the cracks this time. At Marie Curie we would like people living with a terminal illness, and their carers, to be moved into the top priority tier to ensure they are supported to make the most of the time they have left and are able to access a vaccine if it is clinically appropriate.”