Covid Action UK’s spokesperson Joseph Healy says: “At a time when we are just beginning to emerge from the largest Covid wave since 2022, it is simply unbelievable that the JCVI (the body responsible for vaccine policy in the UK) has decided to use an old vaccine as its autumn booster offer on the NHS. This booster will be made available to some of the most vulnerable groups in society – those aged over 65, the immunocompromised and frontline health and social care staff. However, on grounds of cost effectiveness, they have decided to use an old version of the vaccine which was targeted at last winter’s variant instead of the updated vaccines which countries like the US are making available to all.
“The UK now has a two-tier approach to vaccination. The elderly and most vulnerable will be offered an out-of-date vaccine, while those who can afford to buy vaccines privately will be getting the most up-to-date and effective version.”
As Professor Sheila Cruickshank ( Professor in Biomedical Sciences, University of Manchester) says: “Although using pre-procured doses means less money will be spent on the autumn booster programme, research shows older formulations of vaccines are less effective against variants which emerged after they were developed (such as the JN.1 variant). Modelling suggests they’ll be up to a third less protective against severe disease.” She goes on to point out that only those with the means available will be able to purchase updated vaccines on the private market from pharmacies, thus cementing a two-tier health system.
Joseph Healy adds:
“This is an appalling decision and makes the UK not only an outlier, with updated vaccines available in most other European countries, but also could contribute to the deaths and hospitalisation of some of the most vulnerable as well as increasing the levels of Long Covid considerably. There is a need for a serious rethink and for the government to intervene. This decision makes a mockery of the concept of Public Health.”
Establish ‘Special COVID Sickness Leave’ for NHS Staff
Covid Action UK is proposing a separate classification, namely ‘Special COVID Sickness Leave’, for all past, present, and future COVID-19 related absences, exempt from ordinary sickness management or recording. A similar policy was recently implemented in New Zealand’s healthcare system where they established a separate COVID-19 leave scheme for healthcare workers. We call upon the NHS authorities and the government to establish the ‘Special COVID Sickness Leave’ for all NHS staff. This will not only shield us from unfair reprimands but will also reinforce our fight against the pandemic by securing the workforce’s morale and wellbeing. Please sign the petition here.
COVID ACTION UK is grassroots, activist campaign of individuals and affiliated labour and trade union organisations who came together in November 2020 to challenge the then UK government’s approach to the pandemic. It puts forward an alternative strategy, aimed at eliminating community transmission of Covid-19 and campaigns for this to be adopted by the Westminster government, and the governments of the devolved nations, in order to save lives, prevent the collapse of the NHS and care systems, and stamp down on Covid-19 and all its variants. Website: https://covidaction.uk/
Model Motion for Labour Party Conference
LONG COVID: INCREASE SUPPORT TO SUFFERERS AND INVESTMENT IN RESEARCH
The Campaign for Labour Party Democracy is proposing the following motion for CLPs to submit to Labour Party Conference:
Conference notes a review paper on long Covid by the Universities of Oxford, Leeds and Arizona, published in August 2024 in The Lancet, reported that long Covid now affects nearly 2% of the UK population, with 71% of long Covid sufferers having the condition for more than a year. Strikingly, the rate of long Covid in the most deprived fifth of the UK population (3.2%) is more than twice as high as that in the least deprived fifth (1.5%).
Furthermore, another recent study by the Universities of Birmingham and Keele of more than 9,000 people, who were in work before the pandemic, has found that people with long Covid are at three times higher risk of leaving employment compared to those without Covid symptoms.
Conference calls upon our Labour Government to:
1) guarantee sufficient funds for research both into identifying the complex causes of long Covid and its effective treatment;
2) ensure that people with long Covid receive benefits to which they are entitled; and
3) introduce legislation requiring employers to provide support for their employees with long Covid and other serious post-viral conditions, as this will benefit both employees and employers alike.
Supporting arguments:
A new review paper from the Universities of Oxford, Leeds and Arizona analysed dozens of previous studies into Long covid examined the number and range of people affected, the underlying mechanisms of disease, the many symptoms that patients develop, and current and future treatments.
Long Covid is generally defined as symptoms persisting for three months or more. The condition can affect and damage many organ systems, leading to severe and long-term impaired function and a broad range of symptoms, including fatigue, cognitive impairment (often referred to as ‘brain fog’), breathlessness and pain.
Long Covid can affect almost anyone, including all age groups, even children. The researchers found that while some people gradually get better from long Covid, in others the condition can persist for years. Many people who developed long Covid before the advent of vaccines are still unwell. Even among those who those who have been fully vaccinated and up to date with their boosters, 3 to 5% of people can still develop Long Covid after a Covid-19 infection.
Researchers have found that a wide range of biological mechanisms are involved, including persistence of the original virus in the body, disruption of the normal immune response, and microscopic blood clotting, even in some people who had only mild initial infections.
There are no proven treatments for Long Covid yet, and current management of the condition focuses on ways to relieve symptoms or provide rehabilitation. There is a dire need to develop and test biomarkers (for example, blood tests) to diagnose and monitor Long Covid and to find therapies that address root causes of the disease.
Trish Greenhalgh, Professor of Primary Care Health Sciences at Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, said: “Long Covid is a dismal condition but there are grounds for cautious optimism. Various mechanism-based treatments are being tested in research trials. If proven effective, these would allow us to target particular sub-groups of people with precision therapies.
“Treatments aside, it is becoming increasingly clear that long Covid places an enormous social and economic burden on individuals, families and society. In particular, we need to find better ways to treat and support the ‘long-haulers’—people who have been unwell for two years or more and whose lives have often been turned upside down.”
The full paper “Long Covid: a clinical update” is published in The Lancet.
The deadline for submitting these motions for Annual Conference is 5pm Thursday 12th September. A fuller selection of model ‘contemporary motions’ that CLPD is proposing for consideration by CLPs can be found here as a MS Word document and here as a PDF file.
Together Against Covid – time to get organised!
An online conference to bring people together to fight for Covid protections and clean air in workplaces, education, health and social care. Saturday 28th September 10:00 – Sunday 29th September 16:00. Details here.
Source >> LabourHub
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