Since the start of the pandemic, Charles Truby's life has been put on hold. The 56-year-old has a condition known as common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) which means he has low levels of antibodies and is at heightened risk of infections.
As a consequence, throughout the Covid crisis the qualified school teacher has had to shield and cannot work. "I'm a people person and when I teach I feed off the energy of my students," he said. "I feel like for the past two-and-a-half years I've been robbed of something I really love doing."
Charles, from Llandrindod Wells, Powys, said a Covid drug known as Evusheld, an antibody treatment which is designed to protect clinically vulnerable people against Covid in cases where vaccines are not as effective, would have offered him a safe route back into teaching. But earlier this month it was announced that the UK Government wouldn't be funding it for use on the NHS this autumn and winter. You can get more health news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
