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BuDS Disability Service

@buds-disability.bsky.social

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BuDS Disability Service is a user-led, pan-disability grassroots charity working across England. Formerly Buckinghamshire Disability Service. Registered Charity 1102511 #Fair4All #Reach4Work

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

The Covid wave in England continues to grow, with infection levels up 11% in the last week. The risk level is hovering just below Very High. If you do not wish to catch Covid, please take precautions including getting boosted now.
buds.org.uk/covid-19-ris...

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 5 October 2025

buds.org.uk

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 21h

Pneumonia is a condition also commonly associated with other conditions, including Covid.

BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 22h

It is difficult to know how many people die of influenza (influenza as cause of death) because ONS lumps together deaths from influenza and pneumonia. However, on historical trends, influenza seems to kill between 1-3000 people per year. That's not negligible but not huge, either.

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

The judiciary has to be independent of politicians, otherwise it is not a judiciary at all. Judges defend disabled people's rights against Government every day. Politicians demanding the right to hand-pick judges is anti-democratic and erodes everyone's essential freedoms.

Shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, speaking at the Conservative Party conference. He is holding a judge's wig.

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

Disabled people know that it is employers that stop them getting jobs. Rather than harassing disabled people, the DWP should be turning its guns on employers who don't offer inclusive work opportunities or employ disabled people.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Stretched job centre staff struggling to get disabled people into work

The government wants work coaches to provide personalised support, but some have caseloads of up to 200 people.

www.bbc.co.uk

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

We never describe Covid as mild, because it isn't. Some people may have limited acute symptoms on infection, but that also applies to sepsis. Or Ebola. Mild is part of the lexicon of Covid minimisation.

BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

Covid minimisation has been a huge trend in the NHS since 2021, and this failure to boost vulnerable people seems to us to be another example of Covid minimising.

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

It is also curious that influenza (flu) vaccination is being given to a much larger group of people despite flu being a much milder disease than Covid for most people.

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

We think the purpose of the NHS is to protect people's health, and that precautionary treatment like Covid boosters, which will reduce illness and suffering, should be given unless it is clearly not cost-effective. What else is the NHS for?

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

With a Covid wave driven by new variants already growing fast, it will not be long before we know if the Government's gamble has paid off.

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

If that assumption is wrong, then not boosting all vulnerable groups will turn out to be a massive health scandal, as well as a very costly mistake.

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

The gamble the Government is taking is that they are right about point 2 - that people's current hybrid immunity will prevent large numbers of people from needing hospital treatment.

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

3. If point 2 is true, there is no financial benefit to the NHS in boosting the immunity of people who are not going into hospital & costing the NHS money.
4. So the only people it is cost-effective to give a booster to are the most vulnerable clinical groups - over 75s & immunocompromised people.

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

1. The Government assumes that most people already have a high level of 'hybrid immunity' to Covid as they have had Covid & have been vaccinated before.
2. The Government assume this hybrid immunity is already sufficiently strong that most people won't need hospital treatment if they catch Covid.

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

People are right to be angry. It is absolutely shameful that the Government have restricted Covid boosters to such a small group. This is a huge gamble with the nation's health purely to save money. Here is how their argument runs: a thread 🧵

A headline reading "Pharmacies facing angry patients over Covid jab confusion". Below it is an image of a nurse drawing up a vaccine into a syringe from a vial.

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

For more Covid information and help, or if you’d like to know more about how we calculate risk, please contact BuDS and we will be happy to help.

BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

If you’d like to get our weekly Covid risk assessments direct to your email inbox, completely free of charge, you can subscribe here: budscovidinfo.substack.com

BuDS Covid Information | Substack

Up to date, expert analysis of the Covid situation in England, UK. Click to read BuDS Covid Information, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

budscovidinfo.substack.com

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

This is BuDS’ 245th Covid risk assessment since the beginning of the pandemic, and we are still the only organisation publishing free risk data for disabled and clinically vulnerable people. We will update you on the situation again next week.

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

Covid is not just dangerous for clinically-vulnerable people. The virus has been proven to have an adverse health impact on most people who catch Covid. No-one should be relaxed about catching Covid.

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

BuDS strongly recommends that everyone takes precautions against catching Covid. These precautions should be taken in all indoor places, unless you are sure that the space is very well ventilated or has HEPA filtration in place.

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

And this is just the total for this week – every week that the Covid wave continues, the number of people who will wake up every day feeling shattered goes up. If you do not want to be one of those people, take precautions against catching Covid now. (5/5)

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

To put those numbers into perspective, around 500,000 people will have Covid this week, which means that by Bonfire Night (5 November), 200,000 people will still be experiencing persistent fatigue. By Christmas, 100,000 people will still be feeling exhausted and ill. (4/5)

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

2.5 million people have dropped out of the UK workforce since the pandemic began, and persistent fatigue is the commonest symptom amongst those people. (3/5)

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

In studies, around 40% of people reported persistent fatigue more than 30 days after their Covid infection. Over a fifth of people reported persistent fatigue 3 months after their Covid infection, and around 10% report it a year after their infection. (2/5)

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

This week, we are highlighting the risk of persistent fatigue after a Covid infection, also known as Long Covid. Persistent fatigue is a major problem for very large numbers of people, including people who only had ‘mild’ symptoms of Covid. (1/5)

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BuDS Disability Service @buds-disability.bsky.social · 1d

If you can’t isolate, wear a tight-fitting PPE respiratory mask (FFP2/FFP3) whenever you are in contact with other people. Remember, as so few people are eligible for NHS Covid boosters this winter, an uncontrolled Covid wave could do very serious harm to older & clinically vulnerable people. (2/2)

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