I am a disabled person, struggling with the utter lack of access to life saving COVID vaccinations. I have an autoimmune condition and other disabilities that would make a COVID infection significantly more harmful, even deadly to me - yet I am not deemed eligible to have a life-saving vaccine.

Unlike other countries in the world that have vaccines ready for their WHOLE populations, the UK continues to fall short in preventative healthcare for its vast communities. The UKHSA explains there would be less illness if more folks had access to preventative healthcare. The UK places below Thailand, Columbia, and Rwanda for the % of the population given COVID vaccines by their governments, and the eligibility of who can access these vaccines in the UK keeps on shrinking.

I ask that you please sign, share, and use our pre written letter via https://www.writetothem.com to write to your politicians, both national and local. 

This does not only affect the disabled communities, it is vital that non-disabled people like your parents, your children, your partner are protected as well. There needs to be a resolution where everyone in the UK can access COVID vaccines.

Thank you for your time and attention, 

Jinx Peregrine and Green E

Copy the Letter Template Below and Send to Your Local Politicians using this link: (https://www.writetothem.com)

Subject: Vaccines Save Lives. Why Can’t You Save Mine?

Dear 

I am a disabled person. I am writing to you with great concern about the utter lack of access to life saving COVID vaccinations. I have an autoimmune condition and other disabilities that would make a COVID infection significantly more harmful, even deadly to me - yet I am not deemed eligible to have a life-saving vaccine.

Unlike other countries in the world that have vaccines ready for their WHOLE populations, the UK continues to fall short in preventative healthcare for its vast communities. The UKHSA explains there would be less illness if more folks had access to preventative healthcare. The UK places below Thailand, Columbia, and Rwanda for the % of the population given COVID vaccines by their governments.

Further, the list of people who are eligible for the vaccine is continuously shrinking, as usual the blame lies with budget cuts in the NHS, forcing people to go private - which the majority of people cannot do.

The House of Lords have joined those in the medical fields to discuss the alarming trend in declining childhood vaccination uptake, “After clean water, vaccination is the most effective public health intervention in the world for saving lives and promoting good health. But we need to be delivering them equitably.”

The WHO, Unicef, and GAVI have explained the importance of the continued uptake of vaccines. They point to the urgency of each country focusing on “catch-up, restoration and strengthening of immunization programmes”. Why is the UK not doing this?

Though it doesn’t get talked about as much anymore, COVID is still running rampant, and while many people feel more comfortable going out and about, this does unfortunately mean immunocompromised and Disabled people like myself - who make up 25% of the population - are cut off from vital community support.

I would be much safer accessing my work, my community and vital healthcare if the NHS provided vaccines that are necessary to protect through direct immunity and herd immunity. Without essential COVID mitigation, more of the most vulnerable in our community, your parents, your children, will inevitably contract a disease that will either further disable them, or kill them.

Disabled people have a 2.9 times higher COVID mortality rate, or that it will disable them further, at least 10-35% of all infections result in Long COVID and this doesn’t include any other risk factors.

I ask, what do you plan to do to help your community? I have reached out before and nothing has come of it. The healthcare in Scotland continues to worsen, and the public suffers needlessly so.

I ask you, as an elected official who's responsibility is to the people, what are you going to do to help needless illness and death? Will you let it continue to affect and harm the people of Scotland?

Just recently printed in the BBC “An estimated 475,000 lives were saved in England and Scotland via COVID vaccines”, and so many more lives could continue to be saved, if only we had access to vaccines.

This is especially important with the serious outbreak of meningitis in England. We need to step up our vaccine access and fast. The UK continues to fall behind other countries in preparedness and dedication to public health emergencies.

Quite simply, it is a violation of our human rights to be denied something so fundamental to preventative health care as a vaccine. 

This does not only affect the disabled communities, it is vital that non-disabled people like your parents, your children, your partner are protected as well. There needs to be a resolution where everyone in the UK can access COVID vaccines.

I wish you and your family well.

With regards,