Covid: Time running out to protect vulnerable, campaigners warn

Time is running out for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people who are facing another winter shielding from Covid, campaigners have said.

They are calling on the government to buy a drug called Evusheld to provide some protection against the virus.

The government says it is not clear how long that protection will last when up against the Omicron variant. But patients, charities and health experts argue the protection offered is better than nothing.

There are around 500,000 people in the UK with suppressed immune systems. That means their bodies struggle to produce antibodies, so the existing vaccines offer them little or no protection, leaving them very vulnerable to Covid.

Blanche Hampton has lupus, a condition where her immune system has turned against her.

The drugs she takes to control the lupus also suppress her immune system, meaning her body has no defences against Covid.

Blanche has been shielding for two and a half years, but she believes Evusheld offers a chance for at least some kind of existence outside of her small flat in Inverkip, west of Glasgow.

"Evusheld would give me a layer of protection, that is better than nothing. Because that's what I have currently - nothing."

And Blanche, like many people who find themselves in the same situation, says she feels abandoned.

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Source: BBC News, 17 October 2022