Is my son eligible for the vaccine?

[Pabby]

Hi -they have just announced that vaccines are open to cohort 6 - It’s really unclear though on severe learning difficulties. My son is 14 and severely autistic. He lives at home not in a residential setting. The info online is all conflicting and even the govt paper is unclear as the table in it refers to learning difficulties but doesn’t explicitly call it out !! Does Anyone have a more clear view?

[Charlie2750 Community friend]

Hello Pabby and welcome to this forum.I have not read all the details but lots of people are in nearly the same position.I can only say that currently they, the manufacturers of the vaccine have not trialed the vaccine on children under the age of 18 so even if your son was well he would not receive this vaccination.The scientists are doing some trials on children between 16 and 18 which was announced a couple of days ago.

Your son may not be eligible but you however are in a unique position to protect him from the virus by shielding him and being ultra cautious with your friends family and other people that your son may come in contact with during the day. Unfortunately as you can read the news people in residential settings are at higher risk because a carer or visiting relative may not be as careful as you are being.Children and younger adults appear not to be as severely ill with Covid as other adults.I believe the children and younger adults have a much more robust immune system and can throw off these illnesses much easier.

Someone may know more than me and will give good advice but my information is only what I have been informed. I am a vaccinator at a mass vaccination hub and we have been informed that we cannot give vaccine to people under 18.

Look after your son they are precious jewels. x

[Pabby in reply to Charlie2750]

Hi Charlie and thanks for your reply - I hadn’t fully digested that the vaccine was not yet being given to children but now I’ve realised that makes complete sense.

I agree that hopefully my Son would less likely to be severely impacted as his immune system is stronger given his age. We have of course been very careful and shielded him - that in itself is very hard as his whole routine and the things he enjoys doing and that help his sensory wellbeing went away overnight! Lockdown coincided with my sonbhaving become a teenager and his mental Health deteriorated significantly and to a place I’d never experienced with him before. We’ve got through and thankfully he is adjusting.

However, I think many carers of children and adults with severe learning difficulties would want others to understand that it’s not necessarily just the risk of getting very unwell with covid that is worrying to them. Speaking from my own experience even a common cold or mild illness can be hard for my son to cope with. It’s often very difficult for me to decipher what is wrong when my son is poorly as he is non verbal. Even the slightest thing out of routine or feeling unwell can lead him to become frustrated and upset with himself and others especially when he’s misunderstood or can’t communicate clearly his needs and feelings . He is highly dependent upon us for his personal care and as he is highly sensory defensive the main worry is that if he become very unwell treatment would be hugely stressful if at all possible without sedation. Even when the vaccine is available it will be pot luck as to whether he will allow it to happen.

Thanks

[Charlie2750 Community friend in reply to Pabby]

Hi Pabby yes it is difficult with children and learning disability.I have a son of 33 with severe learning disabilities and he does not know when he is poorly.We cant get the bowl in the right place and then we have to change the whole bed. He has had his Covid vaccination.He had his annual review by hi GP over the phone.I filled in a form with all his details etc in readiness and GP spoke with me.He has always allowed me to speak on his behalf.At the review over the phone the last thing I asked was could he have a vaccination and the doctor said he would have to wait.I did not argue because I knew we were protecting him. Less than 2 weeks later We had a call from the surgery and they wanted to speak to Thomas and I explained how it was but I did let her ask him and he said of course I will have the vaccination with a very positive tone to his voice!It helps because my wife and I were both nurses and he has always trusted us implicitly. My wife has now retired and I retired 2 years ago but I have just started back doing vaccines and he always asks me how many I had done today!Have you had a vaccination as a Social Care Worker? If you work around that and phone the County Council and explain to them that you are a carer.Good luck

[Pabby in reply to Charlie2750]

Thanks Charlie. Great to hear the positive response from your son. Thanks for all your doing to help roll out the vaccine too. We seem to be making great progress overall. Take care 😊

[Sarah_Mencap]

Hello Pabby

There is such a lot of information about vaccines at the moment - it is hard to know which bits are important.

The current vaccines in the UK are not recommended for children under 16.

This may change once more adults have been vaccinated. Vaccine trials will include children, but a vaccine for children isn't going to be available for quite some time.

There is a bit more in the news over the last few days about this, as lots of people are thinking about children in England going back to school soon. Perhaps this will speed it all up a bit.

Best wishes

Sarah

[Pabby in reply to Sarah_Mencap]

Hi Sarah - Thanks for your reply. The good news is we are making good progress with vaccine roll out where it can be used 🙂

[Head_cook]

news.sky.com/story/covid-19...