People with learning disabilities dying at a greater rate from coronavirus

People with a learning disability must be urgently prioritised for the coronavirus vaccine, charities have warned as new data shows they are almost twice as likely to die from the virus than the general population.

The latest data for learning disability deaths shows 80% of deaths in the week to 22 January were linked to COVID-19. This compares to just 45% in the general population.

The charity Mencap said everyone with a learning disability should be prioritised for the vaccine.

According to its analysis of deaths reported to the Office for National Statistics and the national Learning Disabilities Mortality Review programme, the proportion of deaths among the learning disabled has been increasing every week since November when it was just above 35%.

Harry Roche, an ambassador at Mencap who has a learning disability, said: “The death rate for 18- to 34-year-olds with a learning disability is 30 times higher than the rest of the population. I’m 32 years old and have a learning disability – this statistic scares me. I’m calling on Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock to rethink and prioritise everyone with a learning disability. We are too often forgotten, don’t ignore us now.”

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Source: The Independent, 3 February 2021