Mencap welcomes the announcement that 12-15 year olds with Down’s Syndrome or profound and multiple learning disabilities will be offered the Pfizer vaccine, but urgently calls for clarity around whether adults with a learning disability will be prioritised for booster jabs this Autumn.
Dan Scorer, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Mencap, said: “We welcome today’s important new guidance that some groups of children with a learning disability will be offered the Pfizer vaccine – this will be a huge relief to many families feeling fearful about the easing of restrictions and the vulnerability of their unvaccinated loved one.
“It’s also critical that the Government prioritises all adults with a learning disability for booster jabs this autumn. Recent findings published in The British Medical Journal showed that people with a learning disability with COVID are five times more likely to be admitted to hospital and eight times more likely to die compared with the general population of England. These findings are further evidence of the shocking health inequalities facing this often forgotten group. Yet despite this high death rate, it’s not yet clear whether people with a learning disability will be prioritised for booster jabs.”
