Email your MP regarding Covid vaccines giving a poor response for people with Blood Cancer

[zaax]

Use CLL Support template from here:

cllsupport.org.uk/our-lette...

Your can find out who your MP is here:

members.parliament.uk/membe...

[stewie]

Hi Zaax all ready done mine to javid the new health secretary asking about the new policey of herd immunity due to opening up on the 19 th all restrictions ending with super spreader events can start again . Included Is the letter from 100s of scientific community advising against this Also asked about the 100.000 s who are still at risk after the 2 vaccines and will find it difficult to stay safe even when trying to due to the much higher concentrations of virus that will be around

Do I think it will make a difference NO I don't , pretty sure that's the road he is now going to take

Stewie

[SuzeJc in reply to stewie]

Do you have the details still for the health secretary because I will do this also. Many thanks

[stewie in reply to SuzeJc]

Hi yes will post it to you in the messages when back from work tomorrow

[SuzeJc in reply to stewie]

Thank you

[ChristyAnne_UK]

Well-posted. Wrote to mine in March. Got my (pathetic) reply in June.

[Harvist]

We should all write to our MPs, at the very least so they can't say "Nobody has contacted me about this." However, my MP usually takes 6 weeks to respond so I very much doubt whether she ever takes any notice, but what other routes have we available?

It has been good to see BloodCancerUK so active in the media.

[ChristyAnne_UK in reply to Harvist]

“What other routes are available?” I wondered that, too.

I don’t know if this would be any more effective, but for those who have the time and the inclination, we can swamp social media through the platforms we use, even if it’s only Facebook. So what if it annoys our contacts? With 230,000 blood cancer patients, there must he enough of us who could make a splash!

Same principle as flooding Westminster and social media, how about pestering the main media contacts, ie - Hugh Pym, Robert Peston, etc? Easy to find on Twitter, and they pester us enough with their BS. Time to throw off the bowlines of British politeness.. Explore, dream, discover! (I know.. Mark Twain, wrong side of the pond, but hey..!) 😁

Engage with relevant comment threads on social media, even if you have to hold your nose to do it. It doesn’t matter if you get rude comments back.. they don’t know who you are.. and you don’t have to win an argument; others will still see your comments, and some will internalise them. Everone who sees or hears our message is someone else who knows (and may talk about it to others).

Who knows? Some of them may know MPs or others with influence! Nicola Mendelsohn got on the twitter bandwagon about it yesterday, after the PHE press release scandal.

Just a brain dump of thoughts from my marketing background, for what they're worth. Saturation tactics! War by keyboard… nice and safe!

[Harvist in reply to ChristyAnne_UK]

I have tweeted every Health Minister, many MPs and other organisations like PHE and the DHSC. Did that on Wednesday. Not one single reply or comment. But as you say, others might have seen the tweets.

[Tpdnotts]

Done

[Feestvarken]

I have done it

[HappyCatUK]

Done

[tubbing]

like a lot of others I've written to my MP, got a pathetic response, ignored my concerns but rambled on about how well the Govt. had done with the vaccine rollout. I wasn't argueing about that!Also written to Boris and Savid but like everyone else think I wasted my time

[SuzeJc]

I think this is very important to do because with all the incorrect information in the media about vaccine response rates for immunocompromised people, I don’t think the majority of the government realise the extent many of us aren’t covered. Also I believe the Kent mutation occurred within an immunocompromised person? I too don’t expect this will make any difference but will forward to the other uk blood cancer forums I’m on.

I’m also going to ask why charities like Blood Cancer UK are not pushing for masks to remain mandatory in many settings - doctors surgeries, hospitals, public transport, shops etc.

I understand that the economy needs to restart fully but do not understand why masks and social distancing are being completely scrapped, especially before we get the recommended 3rd vaccination in 2 months. I also think masks will add confidence and help the economy because I know many people who still don’t feel comfortable going to places even with masks.

[Belfastbees in reply to SuzeJc]

I think I have read before immuno compromised or suppressed offer the virus a longer tenancy and as the battle rages the virus has time to mutate against a weaker immune response. We aren't so much in their radar, but perhaps if they viewed us as risky in developing the next variant of concern they would reconsider their policy.

[ChristyAnne_UK in reply to Belfastbees]

Sadly, I don’t think our political leaders have the capacity (or the will!) to understand that concept, and as for listening to “The Science”? Even if PHE had any idea!

[SuzeJc in reply to ChristyAnne_UK]

Agreed. Unfortunately!

[Indoorbowlers]

Thank you ..... I will send this later today. However, I don’t hold out much hope! Our MP is John Redwood and I wrote to him at the beginning of the pandemic, when we were finding it difficult to get on supermarket priority lists. I couldn’t get past his patronising assistant who replied, smugly telling me about her weekly Ocado deliveries - and ending by suggesting she put me in touch with a local church group!!! I fully expect her to advice a gas mask and Anderson Shelter for the foreseeable future 😀

My husband is the CLLer, and he’s quite laid back about us shielding again; I, on the other hand, am furious that the government are playing russian roulette with so many lives because they’re putting money before people.

Keep safe x

[UKfulloflife]

Already done - also sent to Secretary of State for Health and as a question to the Prime Minister, asking what he intends to do about it! Won't make the slightest bit of difference, but made me feel better. Mind you if we flood their inboxes/intrays with this, it might give them pause for thought. BUT it needs everyone who is affected to do so. There is also a petition on the Gov site that still needs thousands if signatures. Please, please sign it if you can!

Petition

Keep face covering mandatory in indoor public settings beyond 19th July 2021

petition.parliament.uk/peti...

Thanks people - and stay well.

[Fran57]

We have emailed our MP and I will let you know when we get a response.Stay safe,

Fran 😉

[Soundsinamotion]

The link doesn’t work when I click on it

[Indoorbowlers]

I emailed our MP, John Redwood, yesterday and got a standard response back from his assistant ... second time I’ve emailed him during pandemic but can’t get past his blinking assistant! Response quoted all the usual stuff ‘personal responsibility’ ‘job losses’ ‘mental health’ ‘domestic violence’. Complete waste of time! My laid-back CLL husband told me to take a blood pressure tablet before reading the response 🙂

[scarletnoir]

I've sent this off, though as I live in Wales - where the government is more cautious than that in Westminster (and is, BTW, frequently under attack for that approach by rabid 'freedomers'), I'm not sure how much influence, if any, our local MP can bring to bear since the Westminster government's writ does not cover the matter here.

[scarletnoir]

I'd just like to say that my MP, Ben Lake (PC, Ceredigion) has once again proved remarkably efficient and hard-working. I forwarded the letter to him by email at 08:27, and received a personal reply at 10:03 in which he promised to do his best to ensure a more cautious approach in Westminster (difficult to influence) an in Cardiff, where members of his party will be listened to. If only all MPs kept to the same standards!

[Newdawn Administrator in reply to scarletnoir]

That’s an excellent response! My MP hasn’t replied in over a week but I’m expecting the usual boiler plate response with a dose of patronisation and condescension! Let’s hope I’m wrong.

My last MP (who I approached over the Ibrutinib issue), didn’t even reply despite me forwarding it again. Thankfully he lost his seat in the following election.

Newdawn

[scarletnoir in reply to Newdawn]

Deservedly so, by the sound of it. Mr Lake has always responded pretty quickly to any messages from our family, though this one was especially rapid!