Woman allergic to Covid vaccines forced to isolate

Diana Tasker, 78, has been isolating in her Scarborough home since the alternative Covid booster vaccine was withdrawn

A woman has been left isolated and unable to leave her house after the only Covid vaccine she could safely receive was withdrawn from the NHS booster programme.

Diana Tasker, 78, was allergic to both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, so had previously been given an alternative booster jab.

Ms Tasker, from Scarborough, said she had no choice but to go into "indefinite lockdown" after the Novavax booster became unavailable.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed that Novavax had not been offered in the spring top-up programme and had been replaced by more "cost-effective" vaccines.

Ms Tasker said: "I should have had a vaccine this spring, but when I rang Castle Health Centre to book it, they told me the government had stopped Novavax and they were only making Pfizer and Moderna available.

"I had no problems with this alternative vaccine at all."

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of public health programmes at UKHSA, said new guidance had been issued for mRNA allergy patients.

They were now to be "seen by an expert allergist and should then be vaccinated in hospital under clinical supervision".

For Ms Tasker, this would mean having a Pfizer or Moderna booster in hospital, where she would be monitored if she went into anaphylactic shock.

However, she is also allergic to adrenaline, which could be used to treat her if she suffered an adverse reaction.

"I would never go against my doctor’s advice," Ms Tasker said.

Ms Tasker has written to about 30 people and organisations for answers

'Prison sentence'

Ms Tasker has sent letters to numerous organisations to try and find answers to her predicament.

"I have been trying since April to find out where I could get a vaccine and why it has been denied to me," Ms Tasker told the BBC.

"I’ve now got a folder full of letters to all the different departments, very few of which replied, and nobody has given me an answer as to why they have stopped an excellent system."

She has now opted to self-isolate rather than risk leaving home without a booster vaccine.

"It’s worse than a prison sentence because with a prison sentence, you know how long you’ve got in captivity," she added.

"We don’t know how long it will be before we can get this put right."

Ms Tasker hoped to spend the summer swimming and going out with friends

'Not giving up'

Ms Tasker explained that she had missed spending time outdoors during the previous four summers due to having cancer and problems with her heart.

She hoped this year would be a "sweet reward" after some difficult years.

"I love to go swimming and hear our Scarborough Spa Orchestra," she said.

"Just the sheer freedom of going and meeting friends and socialising, I don’t know when or if I’ll be able to do it again."

She called for "immediate action" to reinstate the previous system.

The retired teacher has previously campaigned to protect buildings including the Scarborough Spa and the Futurist Theatre.

"I've worked on other campaigns throughout my life and I thought I'd retired from them," Ms Tasker said.

"But this campaign is the most important of the lot because this one is dealing with people's lives.

“I’m not going to give up and I’m not going to go away.”

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