A CHARITY has urged the government to prioritise home carers for Covid-19 vaccines, or face disaster.

Revitalise, based in Netley, has issued a plea to the Government to prioritise the vaccination of Britain’s army of home carers or risk the NHS becoming overwhelmed if they catch COVID-19.

The charity provides respite care for disabled people and their carers, are currently accepting COVID-19 positive patients at their Netley Waterside House centre, in partnership with the NHS.

This plea comes after a Downing Street press conference on Monday evening in which Health Secretary Matt Hancock claimed the Government was looking “very closely” into where unpaid carers fit in the vaccine prioritisation list.

Whilst unpaid carers are labelled as priority group 6 for the COVID vaccine Revitalise says the reality is that many carers have still not been offered the vaccine, despite many being the sole provider for loved ones.

Revitalise CEO Jan Tregelles said: “Government need to immediately prioritise unpaid carers for the vaccination, if they are to continue providing the important service they do.

"Home carers are vital to the lives of millions of people in this country and are not being given the acknowledgement they deserve."

It is estimated that there are 13.6 million unpaid carers in the UK today, of which 4.5 million became carers since the start of the pandemic.

One carer, Hilary, has been looking after her disabled son, Shaun, for 15 years and is said to have faced enormous challenges since the start of the pandemic, having yet to be offered the COVID-19 vaccination.

Hilary said: "It’s a very scary feeling to be my son’s sole carer, and not be offered the vaccine and granted some level of protection.

"If I catch the virus, he is completely dependent on me, what are we supposed to do?"