People with learning disabilities struggling to get booster jabs amid rush to roll out third vaccine doses

People with learning disabilities are struggling to get their booster jabs despite being eight times more likely to die from Covid, according to analysis seen by The Independent.

The charity Mencap warned the priority list designed to protect the clinical vulnerable has “effectively stopped working” during the booster rollout after it received reports from families that people with learning disabilities were being shut out of the rush to get a third vaccine dose.

NHS data analysed by Open Safely, a team of data scientists at Oxford University, revealed more than a third of people registered with a learning disabilities are overdue their booster jab.

Some 34 per cent of people with learning disabilities between 16 and 64 had yet to claim their booster dose as 15 December, while one third of those in the 64-69 age group were overdue. In the 70 and over age group, between 20 and 25 per cent of people had not yet received their third jab.

Some patients with learning disabilities experience literacy and online access problems which can cause barriers to booking their jabs on the NHS website, while Mencap said busy walk-in centres - which often have lengthy queues - can be “challenging”.

People with learning disabilities are on the NHS clinically vulnerable list and were invited to get their first vaccine dose in February.

Several analyses throughout the pandemic have warned they have a significantly higher rate of death with Covid-19 compared to the general population. Data from the Office for National Statistics found people with learning difficulties were dying with Covid at eight times the rate of the general population.

The figures from Open Safely revealed more than a third of people registered with a learning disabilities are overdue their booster across all age groups.

Those with south Asian and black people had the highest levels of overdue third doses compared to white people, according to the data, which covers 40 per cent of GP practices.

The analysis also suggests patients who are housebound are struggling to get boosters with similar levels of overdue third jabs recorded.

The booster jab rollout was accelerated last week to offer all adults their third vaccine dose by the end of the year as Boris Johnson warned a “tidal wave” of Omicron cases loomed.

Dan Scorer, head of policy and public affairs at the learning disability charity Mencap, said: “The prime minster said the ‘great national fightback has begun’ against Omicron through the booster jab programme.

“However, reports from several families to our helpline have left us concerned that people who are most vulnerable to the virus are missing out on getting their booster vaccine. We are concerned the opening up of access to jabs means the priority list for booster jabs has effectively stopped working for people with additional needs - the very people who were identified as being highest priority for the booster.

NHS England has issued guidance to vaccine centres on how to making reasonable adjustments for people with a learning disability and carers, but Mr Scorer said: “Whilst walk-in clinics are now widely available, some people with a learning disability can find busy and chaotic environments challenging, making it vital that teams on the ground are supported to make reasonable adjustments and ensure that groups vulnerable to Covid can access vital boosters.”

He added: “People with a learning disability are at a far greater risk of dying from coronavirus than the general population. They must not be left behind and we are urging the Government and NHS England to ensure people with a learning disability get the support they need to access the booster now.”

Those with learning disabilities already have a much lower life expectancy than the general population, by 27 years lower for women and 23 years for men.

Latest data from the NHS on health inequalities among this group indicates gaps in health had widened during 2020-21 and particular for women with learning disabilities.

The statistics showed a significantly smaller proportion of women with learning disabilities had a breast cancer screening between 2016 and 2021, with the latest data showing a decrease in 2020-21 compared to 2019-20.

Mr Scorer said: “Even before Covid, people with a learning disability were already twice as likely to die avoidably and died far younger than the general population. And during the pandemic many people have faced serious obstacles accessing healthcare – something we know has disproportionately affected people with a learning disability.

“Now, new data from the NHS has revealed that breast cancer screening rates for women with a learning disability are still worryingly low - and we’re concerned about how Covid will continue to create barriers for a group who were already at high risk of health inequalities, particularly for women with a learning disability.

“More widely, Covid has shown us that health inequalities can no longer be ignored. It must be the wake-up call needed to address the shocking inequalities that people with a learning disability continue to face.”

NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency have been approached for a comment.