Unfortunately, time and again, our needs have not been considered.
Clinically Vulnerable people have a 5.4x increased risk of Long Covid and an 8.5x increased risk of death (data from the final ONS Covid survey).
Withdrawing protections from schools has hit us hardest.
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Our increased risks, without any protections in place, make our lives more difficult and impact our children - even if they are attending school. It is a barrier to attendance and a barrier to learning.
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Many Clinically Vulnerable Families no longer feature in official attendance data, as they have been off-rolled, because schools and local authorities do not want their own data blighted.
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Clinically Vulnerable Families reject the incredibly distasteful title "Ghost Children".
Minimum estimates for Covid Orphans continue to grow.
Because by not protecting our children were are not protecting their households, families and communities.
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We have been collecting data,
We hope to share it with the Education Committee Inquiry into attendance, but we have yet to be invited to share our oral evidence.
Even winter pressures on healthcare affected our school attendance.
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All children are now frequently getting sick with Covid itself, as it remains in high prevalence year-round. This also has a direct impact on attendance figures.
Whilst some people may be asymptomatic, others can take a long time to recover - if they ever do...
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Children are developing post-viral conditions such as T1 diabetes which make them Clinically Vulnerable.
And highly vulnerable children are now locked out of high demand special schools due to a shortfall in provision.
However, there is something they could do...
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And it isn't recycling the old "Schools Bill" to crack down harder on struggling parents.
Because fines, prosecutions, social services referrals, and school attendance orders are blunt instruments, which only make matters worse and won't fix our problem.
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All we are asking for is a safe learning environment. It is a very simple and basic request.
Because even those who are in school are struggling. How can children learn or perform when 'personal responsibility' means that they are constantly managing risk?
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💙 We want to *live* with Covid
💜 #educationANDlives are essentials
💗 Everyone needs safe schools
Let's invest in health. Air filtration can reduce the risks for everyone.
By reducing Covid, 'flu, Strep A. & RSV we improve pupil & staff attendance and community health.
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Join us in the unmentionable place to find the most supportive community and to contribute to our attendance survey:
Search for : Clinically Vulnerable Families
Additionally, please complete the DfE survey requesting evidence on children missing from education.
UK COVID INQUIRY - CVF💙💜💗
@AdamWagner1 Closing Submissions
The Covid Inquiry has good ventilation protocols (as advised by CVF at the start of the Inquiry) including HEPA filters.
Under 1000ppm is therefore the safe threshold ( but without it would be under 800ppm).
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We need to understand airborne transmission in order to make all indoor environments safer for everyone, and especially for Clinically Vulnerable people.
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The need for Clinically Vulnerable people to have:
This week saw CVF's evidence & organisations representing: disability, domestic abuse, faith, migrants, homeless, prisons, local government.
Expert evidence focused on: later life, LGBTQ+, race and gender inequalities (Dr Clare Wenham, below)
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EXPERT RACIAL INEQUALITIES
Prof Laia Bécares discussed the risks in multigenerational households where there were keyworkers and children in schools.
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EXPERT LATER LIFE
Prof @JamesNazroo
CVF were concerned that many older people, who were at high risk, were not supported to shield - which included advice on how to stay safe, as well as food deliveries and community outreach.
Clean air matters - especially for #ClinicallyVulnerable children, staff and families. This is an important recognition that airborne transmission is preventable.
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But the proposed CO₂ thresholds are too high. 800ppm should be the upper limit - not 1500ppm. By 1500ppm, air is already significantly rebreathed. That’s not a precautionary standard for children, let alone those at higher risk.
If we’ve learned anything from the pandemic, it’s that minimum compliance is not the same as safety. #ClinicallyVulnerable pupils cannot “choose” lower exposure if the baseline standard is poor.
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We would encourage you to watch @lara_wong 's inquiry evidence in full.
However, out amazing team have clipped these extracts for you!
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CVF's Survey
In the summer of 2025, CVF gathered in depth survey evidence about the impacts of the pandemic on CV households - which has now been shared multiple times to inquiry experts and others.
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People were commonly told that
"They should hurry up and die so that they could get their lives back."
🚨 Profs Herrick & @Azeem_Majeed on clinical vulnerability
We are grateful that data collected by CVF (last year) was used by @covidinquiryuk to highlight some of the ongoing impacts faced by Clinically Vulnerable people.
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You can have a sneak (advanced) peak at @lara_wong's witness statement on behalf of Clinically Vulnerable Families...
Many and varied consequences (relating to mental health) were identified. 2/
Long term mental health impacts persist to this day.
If you value our work at the C○vid Inquiry and beyond, your continued support is vital.
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It is hard to explain how much effort has gone in over the past few years to raise understanding and awareness of issues amplified the emerge of C○vid.
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We have participated in NICE as stakeholders and the inquiry as Core Participants (as the only group representing Clinically Vulnerable people).
📉📊 We have collected evidence as data and thousands of 💬 impact statements from people.