Yesterday, @lara_wong, took the stand as founder and leader of CVF.
**Sorry for the delay!**
- New risks posed by Covid-19
- We need to be recognised as an equality group.
1/ FOLLOW THIS THREAD
Clinically Vulnerable people were, and are still, being let down.
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The lack of infection prevention and control in vaccination centres for an airborne virus was very concerning.
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People who had multiple conditions or rare diseases were not in clearly defined groups and had to fight for their own eligibility.
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Good examples of vaccination centres:
π Drive through
π Tented (very well ventilated)
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People were never informed on how to reduce their risks using better, close fitting masks such as FFP3 or FFP2s.
Some people were asked to remove better masks. 6/
Third Primary doses.
These were hugely problematic, because people were often aware that they were eligible. They also had to prove that they did qualify and they were not told how to do this.
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Problems with the recording of doses in the NHS computer system.
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Therapeutics (antivirals)
Hugo Keith KC, asked about issues with the range of antivirals available.
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There was a need for different antiviral treatments.
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The importance of Evusheld and the impact on the severely immunosuppressed.
The consequence of not protecting them was phenomenal:
π Mental health
π Social connections
π Ability to re-engage with the rest of the world
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The lack of the UK government's action left severely immunosuppressed people essentially locked up without any route out.
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People who are severely immunosuppressed have a greater reliance on antiviral treatments.
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Severely immunosuppressed people are invited twice a year in order to improve their immune response, and the vaccines are beneficial for the majority.
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Hugo Keith KC lays out concern around antiviral clinical trials.
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Concerns that some people were invited on clinical trials with a 50% chance of treatment when they already had been given emergency approvals.
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The importance of children's vaccines to Clinically Vulnerable families.
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It was incredibly difficult for children in Clinically Vulnerable families who were left waiting for their vaccines because they were not priortised.
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Misinformation / disinformation
The wider community - there is a clear knock on from people not taking up their vaccines if it is undermined.
Clinically Vulnerable people are not immune to these messages.
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CVF do appreciate how accessible the Covid Inquiry venue is and the efforts of inquiry staff to impleme measures to reduce the risks for Clinically Vulnerable people who attend.
π Calling all UK COβ monitor owners
AND any helpful UK voters
PLEASE REPOST β»οΈ β€οΈ and tag others!
π Can you *please* help us at the local elections next Thursday?
- Even if you don't own one, we still need your help!
1/π§΅
<Read our new article - next post>
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. π
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/
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/
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/π§΅
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 Β£1 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.
β οΈEast Kent Trust failed to report their first case for 2 daysβ οΈ
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/π§΅ π @laurabundock @SkyNews
THE OUTBREAK IS DECLINING but understates how well that's going. π
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.
Meningitis
* Important thread for those who prefer balanced and factual information *
In order to understand risk we need to break down a few things....
π¦ Risk from the bacteria
πππ Individual risk
π 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/
UK COVID INQUIRY - CVFπππ
@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: