Hi, I recently had an invitation for myself and my 22 year old son, who is severely autistic with severe learning disability nonverbal, to book an appointment for the Covid-19 and flu vaccine, which we attended yesterday.Before booking I checked we were still eligible on the government uk site and checked on their 'green book', it clearly listed 'carers who are eligible for a carers allowance' and on table 3 for adults 'those with severe learning disabilities who are on the learning disability register', so we qualified for the vaccine.
When we attended, I was questioned how I was eligible and told them I was a carer of my son in receipt of carers allowance, they said I didn't qualify and told me it was only for paid working carers , they called over the manager and she said could I think of anything else, like did I have asthma, then decided just to tick the box of 'paid carer' like they were doing me a favour.
Then they were unsure if my son qualified as he wasn't living in a care home! But decided they would do it anyway.
I thought it was strange as the learning disability nurse in our area usually contacted me to do a 'drive through' vaccine for my son and others like him.
They showed me their qualifying list, and it was different to the green book chapter 14a that I had read.
If they refused I read Boots do it for £98 privately, seems only the wealthy stay healthy nowadays.
Hi Bluey203 , this sounds like a real misunderstanding of the eligibility from where you went for the jabs, as everything we've seen at Mencap agrees with your understanding. Glad you managed to get it done anyway despite their best efforts!
Can you share where it was you went for the jabs, was it your GP, local pharmacy, drop in centre, etc? And if you don't mind, can you let us know where this happened. Just a general area would be fine, don't need a postcode or GPS coordinates! 🙂
If you require any support or advice with this, please give our Learning Disability Helpline a call on 0808 808 1111 or email on helpline@mencap.org.uk.
But this seems to be the same everywhere, even when making an appointment through the NHS they don't mention unpaid carers (receiving carers allowance) or learning disabled on disability register being eligible. Even 'Carers UK ' seems to think unpaid carers aren't eligible this year 🤔
Sounds like a problem with your surgery’s vaccination team’s interpretation. My learning disabled daughter (mild and verbal) had hers done months ago and I was invited a couple of weeks ago. Glad you got it done but they definitely need a challenge on this.
The vaccinators were correct. The chapter from the green book that the poster has put up applies to previous years not this Autumn. Each booster 'round' has different criteria depending on the science of the current viral context.
In the green book under the chapter for Autumn 2024 the criteria is quite clear - those people listed plus anyone in tables 3 and 4 of the guidance. So the vaccination centre *was* 'doing a favour' to the poster by allowing them to be vaccinated under the eligibility of being an unpaid carer. All people with PMLD, Down syndrome or on the Learning Disability Register are eligible by way of table 3.
Hi SpeedyH, I'm a bit confused, the date at the top on the chapter I posted is 16 September 2024 I presume this is the most recent update in the green book ?
Yes, that is the date that the green book was last updated. It was updated to add a new paragraph detailing the eligibility criteria for Autumn 2024. You can read this at the bottom of page 31. The tables 3 and 4 which it refers to are on pages 24 to 26. So those eligible are those over 65 years, people in care homes for the elderly and anyone in tables 3 or 4.
Thank you for making that clear, page 22 and 31 seem to contradict each other for carers on carers allowance caring for someone clinically vulnerable. I saw table 3 previously which my son comes under on the 'Learning Disability register' so knew he should have been eligible.
No, page 22 is describing the eligibility criteria that applied during the actual pandemic period back in 2020/1. Far more people were eligible at that time - in phases if you remember - than are eligible now.
I'm guessing that unpaid carers aren't included this time because the latest strains are not thought to be so transmissible.
Well they'd be wrong there, seems rampant, most of my family have had it this past month, knocked them for six like flu. Ha ha small world, good luck 😄
hi, my son is an adult he has moderate learning disability and is on the disability register and lives with me. He has been offered the Covid booster although he has declined to have it. I am his unpaid carer and haven’t been offered the jab, I live in Basildon Essex area.
I dug down into the green book and yes unpaid carers have been removed from the list - as I understand it. Annoying as the reasons they still give unpaid carers the flu jab apply for the covid jab.
They tweak the eligibility criterion every year - and the local health centre is slow to catch up - in my experience - I have had a lot of trouble getting them to accept my son is eligible for the covid jab even though he is on two counts - I had to write a couple of very firm letters. The I stopped being eligible on the grounds of unpaid carer but am eligible on grounds of asthma but when i got to the appointment they said I wasn't entitled to the jab. I showed them the invite from NHS and that took the wind out of their sails... they gave me the jab but again - like you - as though they were doing me a favour rather than it being right!
If they hadn't given me the covid jab, I would have gone private - as I cannot afford to be out of action as a carer - plus I want to reduce the chances of passing it on to my son as he has a horrendous post covid reaction. Private would mean a trip into the city and cost £90 - I do not feel looked after by the gov.
The JCVI update explains the thinking behind the current eligibility criteria. It is difficult to keep up with changes to the guidelines even for healthcare professionals.
Hi Wazzy22 thank you for the link, it was an interesting read, unsurprisingly the most repetitive phrase in the article was about 'cost effectiveness '. They're looking to reduce the number vaccinated even further in future 🙄Another article I recently read said how in the 2024 vaccine programme they are using up surplus vaccines from 2023 which would be less effective against new variants and how the uk is lagging behind other countries and lacks urgency to develop vaccines against these new variants.
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