Clinically Vulnerable Families ๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’— Profile picture
Jul 20, 2024 โ€ข 12 tweets โ€ข 5 min read โ€ข Read on X
๐Ÿงต The #UKCovidInquiry's first report on ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ has been published.

While it addresses many critical areas, it missed significant issues faced by Clinically Vulnerable (CV) families. Hereโ€™s what you need to know...

1/ #CVAwareness
The reportโ€™s focus on general preparedness overlooked the specific needs and challenges of CV people.

Our community faced unique risks and often felt abandoned in the early stages of the pandemic. Our exclusion from *this module* (M1) of the inquiry was a glaring oversight.
2/ Clinically Vulnerable Families  are the ONLY Core Participant at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry representing CV / CEV / Immunosuppressed voices  We can:  Access Evidence  Make opening & closing statements  Ask the witnesses questions
Key areas missed include:

๐Ÿ’” The lack of tailored guidance for CV families
๐Ÿ˜ท Insufficient availability of appropriate PPE for home use
๐Ÿซ‚ Inadequate mental health support

CV households had to navigate the crisis alone, compounding their stress and isolation.

3/ #CVAwareness
The report also failed to address the systemic issues in healthcare access for CV people.

๐Ÿฅ Delayed treatments / limited availability of in-person consultations put these vulnerable people at greater risk.

We are in the upcoming Healthcare module (M3).

4/ #CVAwareness The following is the list of Module 3 Core Participants in the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. Name of Organisation/Individual Recognised Legal Representative Module Date of Designation Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Elkan Abrahamson (Broudie Jackson Canter) Module 3 2023-01-17 Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru Craig Court (Harding Evans Solicitors) Module 3 2023-01-17 Northern Ireland Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Conal McGarrity (P.A Duffy & Co Solicitors) Module 3 2023-01-17 Scottish Covid Bereaved (formerly The Scottish Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice) Aamer Anwa...
๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿซ Education was another key area. CV children and those in CV households faced challenges without remote learning / safe schools. The lack of appropriate protective policies disrupted their education significantly.

We hope to have the opportunity to assist the Inquiry in M8.
5/


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๐Ÿ’ท Economic support mechanisms often did not account for the additional costs borne by CV families, such as home delivery charges and increased utility bills due to shielding or informal shielding.

Financial assistance was vital but insufficiently targeted.

6/ #CVAwareness
For future preparedness, itโ€™s vital that the voices of CV people are heard. Our experiences offer valuable insights into creating a more inclusive and effective response framework.

7/ #CVAwareness CLINICAL VULNERABILITY IS AN EQUALITY ISSUE  We are the highest risk of the worst Covid outcomes. Government policy never considered our new needs.  98% of CV people feel healthcare is unsafe [Mar '24]  98%  82% of CV households lost work / retired early due to high Covid risks [Mar '24]  65% of mask wearers have experienced Mask Abuse [Jan '24]  1 in 5 CV families withdrew children from unsafe schools [Sept '22]  Clinically Vulnerable Families
The inquiry must broaden its scope to consider the impact on CV communities in upcoming modules. Ignoring their plight risks repeating the same mistakes in future health crises.

We are still *not* identified in their Equalities and Human Rights statement:

8/ #CVAwareness
Home >  Documents  Equalities and Human Rights statement  Published: 6 July 2023  Type: Publication  Module: Not Applicable  This document explains how the UK Covid- 19 Inquiry will consider any disparities evident in the impact of the pandemic on different categories of people, and how it will adopt the 'PANEL' human rights principles in its work.
UK Covid-19 Inquiry  Embedding equalities and human rights in the UK Covid-19 Inquiry  This document explains how the UK Covid-19 Inquiry will consider any disparities evident in the impact of the pandemic on different categories of people, and how it will adopt the 'PANEL' human rights principles in its work.  Equalities  The terms of reference for the UK Covid-19 Inquiry state that the Inquiry will consider any disparities evident in the impact of the pandemic on different categories of people, including, but not limited to, those relating to protected characteristics under the Equality A...
We have raised concerns to the that we are missing from this statement for a considerable length of time now. Perhaps almost 18 months?

Equity can only be achieved if we recognise that people have different needs and circumstances. #CVAwareness !

9/
For more detailed information on the report, visit the UK COVID-19 Inquiry website.

Share your thoughts with us below.

10/ #CVAwareness
covid19.public-inquiry.uk/reports
If you are interested in contributing to our work and you come from a Clinically Vulnerable household.

STEP 1: Join us on FB



11/ #CVAwarenessfacebook.com/groups/clinicaโ€ฆ
STEP 2: Sign up to our online event to meet our Covid-19 Inquiry legal team on 24th July.

* Apply by Monday 22nd July *
โฌ‡๏ธโฌ‡๏ธโฌ‡๏ธ

โฌ†๏ธโฌ†๏ธโฌ†๏ธ

STEP 3: Keep fighting for #CVAwareness and #CVRights ๐Ÿ’ช

12/ clinicallyvulnerable.org
24 JULY  Meet our our legal legal team  Clinically Vulnerable Families members are invited to meet our Covid-19 Inquiry legal team at 6pm on the 24th July.  - Sign up before 22nd July!  Slater Gordon  Lawyers  Doughty Street Chambers

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More from @cv_cev

Apr 30
๐Ÿ”Š Calling all UK COโ‚‚ monitor owners
AND any helpful UK voters

PLEASE REPOST โ™ป๏ธ โค๏ธ and tag others!

๐Ÿ™ Can you *please* help us at the local elections next Thursday?
- Even if you don't own one, we still need your help!

1/๐Ÿงต
<Read our new article - next post> HELP AUDIT  VENTILATION  FOR OUR ACCESSIBILITY SURVEY OF  THE LOCAL ELECTIONS  YOUR VOICE.  CLEAN AIR.  BETTER SPACES.  CO  SPOT IT.  Use a COโ‚‚ monitor to check air quality.  RECORD IT.  Share what you find.  Help make public spaces healthier for everyone.  COโ‚‚  1113  PPM  21  TOGETHER,  WE CAN BREATHE BETTER!  Clinically Vulnerable Families
Last year, your evidence helped us change the Electoral Commission guidance for assisting Clinically Vulnerable voters - which has improved safety for everyone.

This year, we NEED YOUR HELP - to audit whether the guidance has worked. ๐Ÿ™

2/
Read more ๐Ÿ‘‡
clinicallyvulnerable.org/post/2026-locaโ€ฆ
1. ๐ŸŒฌ๏ธ BRING YOUR COโ‚‚ MONITOR
- if you have one!

Take the indoor reading of COโ‚‚ (in ppm) ideally at head height, 50cm away from people, leaving over 30 seconds to settle.

Remember the number... you need it later!

3/ #MyMaskMyVote Image of a CO2 monitor. Signage for polling station visible behind.  However, this was taken *outside* of a polling station immediately after being inside. This is not how to measure CO2! It is for illustrative purposes only.
Read 7 tweets
Apr 10
Let this sink in...

๐Ÿš‘ HEALTHY adults vaccinated against Covid Sept - Dec 2025 reduced their likelihood of emergency and urgent care visits by 50%.

๐Ÿจ Hospitalisations were reduced by 55%

(compared with those not vaccinated)
1/๐Ÿงต Image
The UK has not shared data from 2025. But for CV people it is much worse:

2024 JCVI data showed that vaccines reduced hospitalisations for Clinically Vulnerable people by 45%.

They published it!
...then removed millions with health conditions from eligibility!

2/ Image
45% may sound lower.
But if your baseline is 2-12x more likely to be hospitalised from Covid, a 45% reduction in risk prevents 2-12x more hospitalisations per dose.

The JCVI removed high-risk groups on cost-effectiveness grounds.
But the cost-effectiveness case is stronger!

3/
Read 12 tweets
Mar 29
The government just published its Pandemic Preparedness Strategy.

TLDR: Some welcome commitments inc. on ventilation. But Clinically Vulnerable people are still not clearly defined or automatically protected, and the prioritisation framework won't arrive until 2027.

1/๐Ÿงต Department of Health & Social Care  Pandemic Preparedness Strategy: building our capabilities  Published 25 March 2026
What's new?

Published 25 March 2026, this is the UK's first major pandemic strategy since Covid.

It covers all 4 nations, sets out 12 principles and detailed action plans to 2030, backed by around ยฃ1 billion of investment.

But what about the detail...?

2/
They know another pandemic is coming... and epidemics are also a risk.

The question is:
Will Clinically Vulnerable families be protected when it does?

- This document raises the question more than it answers it.

3/ While pandemics of this scale are rare, major epidemics are far more common and milder  pandemics still cause significant damage. A future pandemic is a certainty - we just donโ€™t  know when it will happen or what will cause it. It would most likely be caused by a virus,  though it could also be caused by bacteria or fungi. It could be spread by one or more of  the routes of infection transmission, with the 5 main transmission routes being: โ€ข respiratory โ€ข oral โ€ข blood or sexual โ€ข touch 1 Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies and DHSCโ€™s DHSC and ONS: direct and indirect health impacts  o...
Read 20 tweets
Mar 25
๐Ÿ“‰ Kent MenB outbreak

โš ๏ธEast Kent Trust failed to report their first case for 2 daysโš ๏ธ

Here's what you need to know.
TLDR: Peaked 13th March. No new cases since - with reporting delays, but that's even better news than it sounds.
1/๐Ÿงต ๐Ÿ‘‡ @laurabundock @SkyNews
THE OUTBREAK IS DECLINING but understates how well that's going. ๐Ÿ“‰

The earliest case became unwell on 9th March, with the latest on 16th March, and the peak was 13th March.

2/
Cases take time to be confirmed and reported.

The fact that nothing new has surfaced in the data as of 23rd March - despite the reporting lag - means the real-world situation is almost certainly better than the numbers show.

3/ Image of bar chart  Figure 2. Cases of invasive meningococcal disease in Kent outbreak, by case category, outbreak bacterial subtype: serotype P1.12-1,16-183, attendance at Club Chemistry, and date of onset (data as of 23 March 2026)  6  5-  4  Number of cases  3  2  1-  0  07 Mar  09 Mar  11 Mar  13 Mar  15 Mar  17 Mar  19 Mar  21 Mar  23 Mar  Date of onset  Confirmed outbreak strain  Confirmed  Probable  Attended Club Chemistry  Includes 17 Confirmed - outbreak strain and 3 Confirmed and 2 Probable case(s). Excludes 1 Probable case with missing date information.
Read 15 tweets
Mar 18
Meningitis
* Important thread for those who prefer balanced and factual information *

In order to understand risk we need to break down a few things....

๐Ÿฆ Risk from the bacteria
๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’— Individual risk
๐ŸŽ“ Environmental risks
1/
The Kent outbreak is predominantly MenB (Group B). This is a serious infection - and potentially an adapted strain - investigations are ongoing...

Bacterial meningitis is rare but more severe than viral, and up to 1 in 10 cases of bacterial meningitis in the UK is fatal.

2/
MenB isn't new. There are around 300 cases of MenB per year in the UK, even with vaccination programmes.

What's unusual is the cluster - multiple cases linked to a single location in a short window. It has now spread to a student at a second university in Canterbury, Kent.
3/
Read 9 tweets
Mar 5
UK COVID INQUIRY - CVF๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’—
@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).

1/
We need to understand airborne transmission in order to make all indoor environments safer for everyone, and especially for Clinically Vulnerable people.

2/
The need for Clinically Vulnerable people to have:

Safety
Support
& Status

3/
Read 14 tweets

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