In February 2022, the UK government abandoned its remaining pandemic restrictions in favour of “living with COVID”. This approach relies largely on vaccines protecting people from severe disease.
However, not everyone benefits equally from vaccines. Former “shielders” – clinically vulnerable people at heightened risk from COVID – number over 3.6 million (around 6% of the UK population).
This group includes 500,000 people whose immune systems don’t respond to vaccines, for example due to genetic disorders, blood cancers or immunosuppressive medications.
