π§΅A letter, signed by Prof Jennifer Harries OBE, has informed parents of Clinically Extremely Vulnerable children that they are not CEV anymore.
Even being identified as needing a vaccine isn't a reason to shield.
NB/ Many (12-15) have still not received a first dose yet. 1/
Seeking to reassure parents
"Recent clinical studies have shown that children & young people are at very low risk of serious illness if they catch the virus. We are pleased to let you know that your child is therefore no longer considered to be clinically extremely vulnerable" 2/
...before the big blow...
"It is important that your child continues to attend their school or other educational settings."
* With a caveat that actually maybe your child is still CEV and "will still have to isolate or reduce their social contact".
3/
Next they remind parents about vaccines, which too many approved 12-15yos still can't access, but state that
"being eligible for vaccination does not mean that the child is considered to be clinically extremely vulnerable."
4/
Parents "will be pleased to know" that their child is no longer CEV.
Their mental health is a priority. Returning them to schools without any mitigations and high prevelance of an airborne infection is, it would appear, the antidote.
5/
Mental health has regularly been a focus for the DfE:
For children missing school for a couple of weeks in termtime (when school holidays have never caused such issues).
For Vulnerable parents whose fears for life were dismissed as 'anxiety' to keep their children in school.
6/
Once again, mental health is the reason.
Prioritising an unassessed, presumed, mental health condition above a proven physical health condition * all of whom have been flagged by medical professionals as high risk, a concern.
We have safe remote learning alternatives.
7/
Having children attending school during Covid with a threat to life in the household is like living with a gun to your head. Playing Russian Roulette each day.
That is the known threat to mental health.
Why would parents choose to put their child in the firing line?
8/
We have remote learning. If there is *any perceived threat to live* we have an obligation to protect it. Education never previously came with such a threat.
Professor Steve Turner, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (@RCPCHtweets) @SteveTurnerABDN.
"children, mercifully, were spared from the harm of that came from Covid. Even my most sick patients .... it was their parents who were unwell...."
1/
Advice on shielded children.
"The College was pleased that the UK government adopted the College's advice on shielding for babies, children and young people. Recommending that most but not all C&YP did not need to shield."
2/
"We knew very early on..."
"Children who've had kidney transplants, whose immune systems were suppressed [...] but the virus bounced off them."
NB/ This is the *only* group of children still prioritised 2x a year for vaccines.
The first hearing started with "Impact videos," including Seren (18) from CVF.
Please do take a moment to listen to her experiences.
2/
The Children's Rights Organisations, @SteveBroach KC, opened with concerns around the systemic deprioritisation of children's rights, which affected children and young people (C&YP) in a non uniform way.
Please help to BOOST this thread to your followers!
2/
Clinically Vulerable households were pressured by teachers and headteachers, who were following poor government guidance, to return to unsafe schools without appropriate safty measures in place.
Families faced:
Fines
Prosecutions
Inappropriate referals to Children's Services. 3/
πͺ As the UK Covid Inquiry began to focus on Children and Young people yesterday, CVF's barrister @AdamWagner1 KC stood to address the chair, Baroness Hallett, and shared our powerful opening submissions.
He started by sharing "David's" story (13). 1/
Then, Lana's story and the pressure she faced.
2/
It is a myth, of course, that children remained relatively unaffected by Covid-19. Thousands of them were and remain Clinically Vulnerable.
88 died
6000 Covid admissions
250 needed PICU care
"Something as simple as breathing in shared indoor spaces has become a barrier to accessibility and inclusion for millions of people, and it's time to change that!"
"Millions of people with chronic conditions are being put at risk or quietly excluded because clean indoor air has not been treated as a fundamental human right."
"If the act of breathing in a space puts someone at risk, access isn't equitable."
"We all breathe the same air, but not with the same consequences. For people with chronic conditions and other risk factors, unsafe air means unsafe spaces."
Leading the way since 2020. They invested in IAQ sensors in every classroom across the district.
Their data was made publicly available, and they connected implemented demand controlled ventilation by linking sensors to the building management system.
They were able to:
REPAIR - broken ventilation systems
EDUCATE - communities about air quality
UPGRADE - they prioritised ventilation in major renovations to balance indoor air quality with energy efficiency