Thread by @CovidPledge

The notion that Covid ‘is all over’ and that we don’t need to do anything to make public spaces safer is only possible if one ignores the experience and the voices of those who are vulnerable to infection and whose lives remain heavily restricted #CovidSafetyPledge (1/10)

Frances Ryan in @guardian: “Many people who are clinically vulnerable to dying from Covid are still at least semi-shielding at home, forced to miss going the pub w/friends or a simple trip to the shops, while the media & politicians look the other way” #CovidSafetyPledge (2/10)

Her words are supported by official figures. @ONS data taken after the official end of all Covid measures indicated that over 80% of Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) people were either still shielding (13%) or taking additional precautions #CovidSafetyPledge (3/10)

Surveys by Clinically Vulnerable Families (@cv_cev) show that 91% of CEV people either had, or would delay medical appointments due to high Covid risks in healthcare settings – no masks, no testing, poor ventilation. This is simply appalling #CovidSafetyPledge (4/10)

Nearly as extreme, over 2/3 of severely immunosuppressed (SI) people feel unsafe at work, & half of these have been refused requests to work from home. This has led to a quarter of SI people leaving work & a fifth of such households losing £10k or more #CovidSafetyPledge (5/10)

Add to the financial effects the impact on health, both physical and mental. Nearly all SI people (94%) feel anxious and both the physical and mental health of CEV people is worse than that of the rest of the population (e.g. academic.oup.com/rheumap/articl…) #CovidSafetyPledge (6/10)

But the effects are not just on the vulnerable themselves. One study suggests that half of the family members supporting CEV people have ‘vicarious health anxiety’ – concern for their impact on the health of others (gavi.org/vaccineswork/m… ) #CovidSafetyPledge (7/10)

And there are particularly strong effects on children. Just about every clinically vulnerable family (99%) feels exposed to Covid risks at school, leading to most children (81%) missing school and losing opportunities. #CovidSafetyPledge (8/10)

All in all, the lack of action to make schools, hospitals & other public spaces safe is causing untold mental, physical, financial & social harm. If we want our society to be open to all, we must take action now: covidpledge.uk #CovidSafetyPledge (9/10)

Gandhi said “the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members”. What does our failure to protect our CEV population (a population any of us can find ourselves joining) from Covid infection say about our society? #CovidSafetyPledge (10/10)

And finally, many thanks to @lara_wong from Clinically Vulnerable Families (@cv_cev) , for helping us with the information in this thread.