A PLEA for vulnerable children and their carers to get the Covid vaccine has been made by the mum of a disabled girl.

Claire Strong, mum and carer to Ruby-Rose Schwab, said they had been shielding her throughout the pandemic, but the uncertainty over the vaccine was frustrating.

Ruby-Rose was born with a cyst that essentially leaves her with half a brain, and is sadly inoperable. This has left the three-year-old severely disabled.

Miss Strong, from Pershore, said: “We have heard nothing at all from anyone, not even when we will be getting the vaccine. Carers and parents - the ones who are caring for family members - seem to have been completely forgotten about.

"We chose to shield Ruby as with her disability we didn’t know how she would cope and what the impact would be if she had Covid. It would be a weight off our shoulders if me and Marcus (Miss Strong’s partner) had the vaccine. But we have heard nothing so far.

"My sister, who is 38 and who has cerebral palsy, hasn’t even heard when she will be getting the vaccine.”

Contact, a charity that supports families with disabled and vulnerable children, has called on the government and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the group that decided on allocation of the vaccine, to provide more information.

At the end of December the JCVI did update its guidance to recommend that unpaid carers should be added to the vaccine priority list.

This meant the main carers of a disabled person are now included in priority group six, which is the group alongside people with underlying health conditions.

The two jabs currently being rolled out in the UK are not licensed for use in children.

Dr Jennifer Kelly founded the Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust in memory of daughter Grace Kelly from Crowle, near Worcester, who died aged four just weeks after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in 2014.

Dr Kelly has since tirelessly supported families of children with cancer, including through the pandemic, and said many she spoke to regularly were having to go through strict shielding to protect their children, as they effectively have little or no immunity.

Dr Kelly said: “Our vulnerable families have been shielding much more than the rest of the population. They cannot see the way out at the moment.

“Statistics for vulnerable children, such as those with cancer, show so far that it doesn’t appear to affect them when they got it anymore than the average person. However if you have a vulnerable child you are going to do everything you can to protect them.

“There doesn’t appear to be much clarity from the government what will happen with children as a whole, particularly the vulnerable ones.

“The vaccine has not been licensed for children, but what is the way ahead for vulnerable children?

“If you can’t get children vaccinated, it would be good if the government could give more clarity.”

Worcester News reader Jo Lines added: “My son has a high level disability and low immunity but we’re not in a hurry to demand he gets the vaccine first as we’re simply staying home and protecting him from any chance of getting it.

“I’d say it’s more of a priority for key workers to have it as they don’t have the choice to stay at home.”

Responding to Contact, the Department of Health and Social Care said it did not respond to specific questions about the vaccination options for families of younger, clinically vulnerable patients.

A spokesman said that very few children and young people were at risk of severe illness due to Covid, and that doctors were reviewing the shielding list to confirm those initially identified as clinically extremely vulnerable.