A Preventable Winter Crisis: Why Clinically Vulnerable People Need Your Help

This week, millions of Clinically Vulnerable people woke up to find out they no longer qualify for an NHS Covid vaccine. No letter. No announcement. Just a quiet change on a website - and a real shock when they try to book.

It has been five years since Covid first emerged, and four since the first vaccines gave us a a degree of protection. You would think, by now, we might have learned that prevention saves lives. But instead, the UK has quietly stepped away from protecting millions of the very people most likely to end up in hospital.

What has Changed - and Why It Matters

This year, the NHS is only offering free Covid vaccines to people over 75, care home residents, and those who are severely immunosuppressed.That means the majority of Clinically Vulnerable people - those with conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and neurological conditions - are suddenly excluded.

The official line is that because current vaccines don’t fully stop mild infection, only those “most likely to benefit” should get them. But that ignores what we know from years of evidence: vaccines still cut severe illness, long Covid, hospitalisation. They help the NHS functioning. They save lives!

Meanwhile, the U.S. CDC has decided to offer Covid vaccination to every adult. Most other countries are doing the same. Once again, the UK stands alone - an international outlier. Our Letter to the JCVI: A Warning Ignored

In November 2024, we wrote an open letter to the JCVI and UK Government, co-signed by leading experts, scientists and clinicians, urging them to maintain vaccine access for all Clinically Vulnerable people. We warned that:

“This decision effectively excludes millions of Clinically Vulnerable people who are at higher risk of severe illness, hospitalisation, and sequelae, from essential protection.”

We highlighted the inconsistency with NICE’s own antiviral treatment guidance, which still recognises these many in the same risk groups as higher-risk. We warned that financial barriers would leave many unprotected and worsen inequality.

Those warnings have now become reality.

The New Variants Aren’t Waiting

Scientists have been sounding the alarm. Professor Stephen Griffin, a virologist at the University of Leeds, warns that even for those who are still on the list the UK is using an older vaccine (KP2) while a newer one (LP8.1), better matched to current variants, is only available privately - for around £100 a dose.

As he put it:

“The most vulnerable groups, by definition, are getting the slightly diminished choice… and that could lead to more damaging consequences.”

Imagine being told you’re at higher risk from Covid - but you can’t have the best vaccine unless you can pay.

The UK seems to have forgotten about the need for public health. We have now quietly shifted to a pay-to-protect model.

We have Been Here Before

This isn't the first time the UK has treated prevention like an optional extra. Every winter, we brace for “NHS pressures”: 'flu, RSV, staff shortages, hospital beds full. But this year, we are heading into that storm choosing to have less protection than ever.

As Prof. Griffin said:

“Ignoring respiratory viruses and the ongoing added burden of Covid is utter stupidity and short-termism. No vax costs more than a hospital stay.”

He’s right. A Covid admission can cost the NHS thousands. A vaccine costs around £35 to deliver. Yet somehow, we’re pretending this doesn’t matter along with those at risk.

What You Can Do? - We need your help! We are asking the government to restore free NHS Covid-19 vaccination for all Clinically Vulnerable people — the same people who still qualify for the 'flu jab based on risk.

You can:

• Sign our petition - #KeepCovidBoosters

• Share this post - help spread the word before it’s too late for this winter rollout

• Donate - every pound helps us campaign, support and inform CV families!
  

Because the truth is simple: We are creating new high risks an inequalities this winter. And protecting the vulnerable helps to protect everyone by reducing the pressure on the NHS. If you are from a CV family we would love you to join our support group on Facebook.