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A woman who had half her lung removed has demanded covid vaccine be given equal priority to Fever He was given the jab three times in the months after being struck off the eligibility list after contracting the virus.
Historian Ella Helper-Matthews, from Kent, has severe respiratory disease and has been asthmatic since birth.
He had half of his lung removed due to cystic adenomatoid malignancy and suffers from chronic chest infections, which makes him more vulnerable. common cold and covidHowever, he ceased to be eligible for NHS booster vaccine Earlier this year when the health service updated its criteria.
The 27-year-old takes precautions to protect herself by wearing a high-quality face mask and she avoids crowded, poorly ventilated spaces such as the London Underground. Despite this she is still holding on covid Three times since her last booster jab.
She says her health condition makes her feel “cut off from society”, causing her to miss parties, concerts or family birthdays.
She said: “If I want to protect my health, I will inevitably be forced to become a hermit and renounce community and public life.”
He said: “Beyond the physical and mental exhaustion of infection, the UK social landscape has been extremely difficult to navigate, because no one wants to talk about Covid, no one gets tested when sick, and people don’t like to cancel plans when unwell.”
Ms Halpern-Matthews says she has “obviously had difficult conversations with friends and loved ones” about testing and mask-wearing and is now “actively looking for new Covid-conscious friends”.
sasonal covid vaccination Eligibility in England is now only available to adults aged 75 and over, older adult care home residents and people who are immunosuppressed. The Green BookWhich serves as a guide on vaccination for UK health professionals.
This represents a change from autumn 2024, which included adults aged 65 to 74, or those aged six months and older, in the clinical risk group.
Ms. Halpern-Matthews used to be in the immunosuppressed category, but since this spring, NHS has tightened its criteria and will apply it only to people taking immunosuppressant drugs. Her last Covid jab was last year and she has had a total of eight jabs since 2021, all of which are free on the NHS.
NHS Kent and Medway, Ms Halpern-Matthews’ local provider, said it was unable to comment on the details of individual cases, but said it followed national vaccination guidance.
However, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI), which sets national guidelines, said the Green Book’s list of immuno-suppressed individuals is “not exhaustive” and that “clinicians may need to apply clinical judgment” to take into account the risk of Covid increasing any underlying disease.
Ms Halpern-Matthews has been forced to crowdfund her next dose as she says she cannot afford to pay a private provider, with vaccines costing between £75 and £120 at independent pharmacies in the UK.
She said: “To be honest, I’m broke. If I could pay out of my own pocket I would. But at the same time, I think some of this is about raising awareness of how serious the situation is here.
“You could get Covid vaccine Priced at less than €10 in France, you can get it for even less throughout the EU. If I were to pay for Eurostar and take a day trip to France and get it, it might cost less than a private jab at my favorite proverbial door in Britain.
“This is really a clear example of the two-tiered health system that we have, where people who can afford private health care can go and do it all themselves, and have a private GP and are able to access all these essential life-saving medicines.”
Leyla Hanbeck, chief executive of the Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA), described the NHS Fever And described the Covid jab booking system as “chaos” and said some pharmacists had said their patients had become aggressive when told they were not eligible for an NHS Covid jab.
He said: “The NHS booking system this year is broken and has confused everyone. It allows patients aged 65 to 74 to book appointments and declare themselves as immunosuppressed even though they are not and the definition of immunosuppressed is not clear to them.”
The IPA raised concerns in August when the JCVI announced its decision to exclude patients aged 65 to 74 who are not immunocompromised.
Ms Hanbeck said: “This is particularly worrying because there are reports of a new Covid strain. Last year, there were a lot of hospitalizations due to the winter virus; so it is worrying that instead of increasing public safety by vaccinating a large group, they decided to limit it.
“Broken systems and poor communication by decision makers, leaving community pharmacies on the front lines to manage the chaos, are not helping patient care.”