The Help Protect the #Forgotten500K Campaign started on the 17th October 2022. The campaign is calling for the Government to reverse its decision and immediately roll out Evusheld for people who have been unable to mount a protective response to COVID-19 following vaccination.

The campaign builds on the work of the patient group Evusheld for the UK with support from sixteen charities including Immunodeficiency UK, Blood Cancer UK; Lupus UK; Leukaemia Care; Kidney Care UK; Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis; Myaware; Follicular Lymphoma Foundation; the Kidney National Federation; CLL Ireland; WM UK; Vasculitis UK; Anthony Nolan; Leukaemia UK; Kidney Research UK; and CLL Support.

Probono work was generously provided by The&Partnership and mSix&Partners to support some of the costs of this campaign.

On Monday 17th October there was a national advertising campaign with coverage in The Times, Daily Mail, Evening Standard, Metro, Telegraph, The Sun and Guardian newspapers.

And also a ‘Crisis What Crisis’? Podcast with guests Martin Eve and Dr Lennard Lee, of the Evusheld UK campaign talking to Andy Coulson about the campaign and what life has been like for the forgotten 500,000. Listen here: https://podcast.crisiswhatcrisis.com/forgotten500k

On Wednesday 19th October an advertising van looped around Westminster with powerful messaging addressing the Government ‘ Roll out Evusheld today’.

On Thursday 20th October Tortoise Media held a ‘Think In’ ‘The forgotten 500,000: why is the UK government blocking Evusheld?’ It was hosted by James Harding in conversation with Lord Mendelsohn; Dr Lennard Lee, Academic Clinical Lecturer in Medical Oncology at the University of Oxford; Mark Oakley, Evusheld for the UK; and Helen Rowntree, Director of Research, Services and Engagement at Blood Cancer UK. You can listen to the proceedings here.

On Wednesday 26th October a Silent Vigil was held in Parliament Square with family and friends of the forgotten 500,000 standing in Parliament Square holding photos of their loved ones who are unable to be there in person because of the risk of illness.

Coverage in Parliament

House of Commons debate
A debate on the procurement of Evusheld was held in the House of Commons on the 12th October 2022. You can watch the video of the debate at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpSZjE9rGo0 and a transcript of the debate here.

Immunodeficiency UK would like to thank Daisy Cooper MP for raising awareness of this issue, and to her constituents who are affected by immunodeficiency who we know brought this to her attention.

House of Lords

We would like to thank Lord Mendelsohn, and other House of Lord members, who continue to ask Government probing questions about Evusheld, the availability of other COVID-19 medications and the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the lives of people who remain at high risk from COVID-19. You can read the questions asked and the answers received at https://members.parliament.uk/member/4286/writtenquestions.

How you can help

Daisy Cooper MP, during the ‘Evusheld ‘Think in”, said one of the most powerful ways to get your voice heard is by attending a MP surgery. This link gives you details of what these are and how you can book an appointment. If you don’t feel confident enough to do this consider writing to your MP.

Posted November 2022