Meet the 'abandoned' Covid victims still in lockdown with vaccines having no effect

Jane Webster

Covid lockdown may now be a thing of the past – but for some people, living a shielded life away from busy crowds is still a priority. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, retired maths teacher Jane Webster and charity coordinator Anna Wilson have both laid bare the after-effects the pandemic has had on them, telling all about their lives in a self-proclaimed ‘lockdown’, where the sun never set. Both are immunosuppressed which means they have a reduced ability to fight infections and other diseases – making the risk of catching Covid ever greater.

Jane Webster, 69, has rheumatoid arthritis and takes drugs which suppress her immune system. She told the Express: “I have felt very lonely throughout lockdown and for the past three years. Worse, there is no end in sight for people like me for whom Covid vaccinations don’t work as we cannot make antibodies from them to protect us.”

Jane said the perpetual lockdown had a dramatic impact on her ability to socialise and see friends. She added: “I feel very sad that I cannot safely meet up with most of my family and friends, my social life no longer exists.

“I rarely go out (except to attend medical appointments) and I’m lonely as I live alone.”

Ms Webster added: “I have to risk assess everything I might want to do based on the latest scientific evidence and what mitigations, if any, may be in place.

Ms Webster, who lives in Hampshire, says she avoids places like pubs, bars and restaurants and has even given up playing Bridge. As for her tutoring, she can still do this, but opts to do her teaching over Zoom. And, even those who do come over, she says her house has to be well-ventilated first.

Jane’s case isn’t isolated, other immunosuppressed people, such as Anna, 35, have had to miss weddings, avoid friends, and restrict their lives because they can’t risk catching Covid.

Anna, from Lincolnshire, said: “I’ve lost friends because of this, I’ve lost job opportunities, I’ve lost three years of my life. I don’t think others understand how draining it is to have to risk assess practically every move I make daily.

“I have to seriously weigh up whether being hospitalised, or killed, is worth it if I want to see my nieces and nephews occasionally. It’s exhausting, and the worst part is, there seems to be no end in sight.”

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Both Jane and Anna have had to miss crucial life experiences too. Jane said missing her daughter’s wedding was “heartbreaking” and an important life event that is “lost forever”. Anna too, couldn’t attend a wedding and had to pull out as maid of honour.

While close to 500,000 immunosuppressed people remain inside their homes, there is a way out of lockdown for patients, but it’s not actively available on the NHS.

In the three years since the national lockdown began, scientists and doctors have developed a treatment known as Evusheld, an antibody treatment made by AstraZeneca, one of the pharmaceutical companies behind the Covid vaccines.

Evusheld for the UK said the drug is “a combination of two long-acting antibodies designed to protect clinically vulnerable people against covid, due to the fact normal vaccines do not work for them”.

While the drug is available privately, it is not currently available on the NHS, putting it out of reach of immunosuppressed patients who cannot afford the doses needed to allow them to leave lockdown.

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Jane, like many patients, is annoyed by the decision of the government not to roll out Evusheld, adding that she feels the immunosuppressed have been “abandoned”.

She said: “If the UK had given us Evusheld when MRHA approved it in March 2022 our lives would have been transformed. Instead, it got referred to NICE who took many months to evaluate it and finally decided not to roll it out.”

Jane’s thoughts are echoed by Anna: “We are being shut out of the world, and it seems like very few people care. We’re essentially being told to shield forever, or risk further illness or death every time we step out the door.

“Three years on from lockdown, I feel that life is almost more dangerous for me than it was at the start of the pandemic.”

Speaking to Express.co.uk, campaign group Evusheld for the UK said: “For this group of patients the pandemic is not over, they still continue to live through the nightmare which impacts their families, finances and mental health, too many lives have also been lost.

“We need a dynamic solution so that any new technologies can be appraised swiftly to maximise protection, and this group is given equity of protection with the normal population.

“We also need a commitment going forward that investments will be made in further new technologies/treatments and collection of data so that this group is not forgotten again in the future. We look forward to hopefully meeting with ministers to discuss these issues further.”

Today, the group have delivered a letter signed by themselves and 19 other charities to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at No10 to mark the third anniversary and call for release from their protracted isolation.

Covid lockdown and Jane Webster