Calls for people with learning disabilities in Scarborough to be prioritised for vaccine
There are calls for people with learning disabilities in Scarborough to have priority access to the Covid-19 vaccine.
There are calls for people with learning disabilities in Scarborough to have priority access to the Covid-19 vaccine.
Mencap says many lives have not been the same due to lockdown and restrictions.
Jenny Stamford, who is a volunteer at the Scarborough charity, said:
"For those who are aware, it's been very worrying and it's made them very anxious. For others who don't understand, they've just had their lives turned upside down and they have no understanding why that has happened.
"They are isolated, they've had very little social interaction with their friends and they've had very limited social interaction with their families. It's been a shock to all of them that they have needed to stop going to all of their activities, to their day centres, to their social clubs and for many of them they don't know why.
"Having the vaccine will make a huge difference. They'll be able to resume some of their daytime activities and hopefully be able to go to social activities that they've been used to doing in the past.
"It is imperative that there is a local vaccination hub to enable that to happen. Transport is always a problem in a difficulty, because of their vulnerabilities and they need to have an easy access to be able to take up the vaccine.
"They need us all to encourage them and to give them the confidence that the vaccine is a good thing, that it's actually going to make their lives better and that it will protect them and their families as well."
Dan Scorer, Head of Policy at Mencap, said:
"Public Health England data has shown that people with a learning disability are dying of coronavirus up to six times the rate of the general population - they must be given greater priority for the COVID vaccine."