CLINICALLY vulnerable asthmatics say they are being put at risk by the decision not to include them in the Covid vaccine priority list.

People suffering from asthma were originally told they would be in either group four or group six - and many were left angry and dismayed after the last minute discovery that they were no longer on the list. Only those with severe asthma have been included. Others, many of whom need to use steroid inhalers every day, have been told they do not qualify - despite being listed as clinically vulnerable and at risk by the NHS.

Now they have been dealt a fresh blow with today's recommendation from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation that people should be prioritised by age in phase two of the roll out programme.

In a statement today Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation, said: “The decision not to prioritise all people with asthma, who are not already in group four and six, ignores the evidence that they are more at risk of going to hospital with Covid and more at risk from long Covid.

"There are thousands of people with asthma who will rightly feel anxious, angry and ignored by government.

"We have been urging the government to ensure everyone with asthma is prioritised in the next vaccine roll out and more than 18,000 people with asthma have signed our petition in support of this.

"The government must reconsider this decision which is unacceptable and could put people with asthma at risk.

The decision to leave many asthmatics out of group six has sparked anger among people who have the condition, and who have been warned to be particularly careful over the past year. The hashtag #asthmaticsatrisk has been trending on twitter.

One of those commenting said: "The #NHS class asthmatics as clinically vulnerable. They list those who should get the vaccine early to include those who are clinically vulnerable. Yet the government have done a u-turn and removed asthmatics from group 6. It’s a total disgrace. #asthmaticsatrisk"

Another said: "People with asthma are clinically vulnerable to Covid-19 yet are being excluded from the priority groups for the vaccine. We’ve spent nearly a year locked away in fear and now we’ve been abandoned."