Thread by @drlennardlee

1/x Several months ago, @katebingham2 drove the UK pandemic response. She is incredible 🦸‍♀️- thanks for your insight. But then she finished and something extraordinary happened. The Winter plan to protect the #immunocompromised was quietly dropped....😫 Why does it matter? 🤷🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️

https://twitter.com/katebingham2/status/1585394356168572929

2/x Because it had widespread clinical & academic backing for our 2022 Winter plan. Cohorts were identified & large teams of clinicians worked around the clock to work out which of #immunocompromised who don't have high levels of protection from vaccination could be protected 👩‍⚕️

3/x This would have put us in line with 32 countries who were protected their #immunocompromised during the Winter months when COVID cases rise. If you don't respond to vaccines 💉, then your risk of hospitalisation, ITU admission & not recovering from COVID is 📈

4/x Unfortunately someone somewhere asked for the country to ignored the sound advice by @katebingham2 and many others. The Winter plan was stabbed and quietly shelved. The #immunocompromised were moved to be the #Forgotten500k ☹️. And their protections removed....

5/x To make it worse, government data analytics like @ICNARC @ISARIC1 @OpenSAFELY QCOVID and @UKCORONACANCER @ONS are all now showing the same thing. Whilst the risk is lower, many #immunocompromised patients are now driving COVID hospitalisation, ITU admissions and deaths. 😢

6/x. I can't say what constitutes an official crisis, but reporters like surfaced this health calamity & there's outrage @hughesthenews @EnnalsEthan
@TomChivers
@KatharineDC
@jeremyatmirror
@claremenglish
@WiTullis
@BBCFergusWalsh
@Garethiacobucci
@mroliverbarnes
@ewither

7/x. Incredibly, the UK policy is that if you are #immunocompromised and want protection this Christmas, you need to go to PRIVATE healthcare providers. The drug costs £1,000 but if you add on all the extra costs, you're looking at just shy of £3,000 for COVID protection... 🙄

5/x #immunocompromised patients have rightly tried take to their virtual streets to ask for equality of protection from COVID-19 and want their proction by Christmas with antibody therapy, #evusheld. They are suffering from a mental health and physical health perspective.

6/x They are still shielding, there's 500,000 of them, they can't see family or hugged loved ones. They want to be protected from being hospitalised, ending up in intensive care or not recovering from COVID-19. They want it by Christmas. 🎄🤶

7/x Support in Westminister for equality & a focus on the vulnerable & #immunocompromised has slowly increased. Social justice MPs like @GwynneMP @libdemdaisy @RuthCadbury @wesstreeting @vickyfoxcroft @grahamstuart @BobBlackman
@Wera_Hobhouse @timloughton and many more who care.

8/x Clearly a bad decision was made but @katebingham2 confirms this was a known issue. The question is now how quickly will @RishiSunak and @SteveBarclay correct the wrong and follow the science from around the world. Will they do it by Christmas? 🎄🤶🧑‍🎄