Why Captain Tom didn't get the vaccine - and who else can't

Read the latest on his tragic death and tributes to his life.

This story was originally published to inform people about why the national fundraising hero had not received the Covid-19 vaccine.

It also includes information below on other groups of people unable to receive the coronavirus jab.

Captain Tom's virus fight

The 100-year-old charity fundraiser was taken to Bedford Hospital on Sunday, after being treated for pneumonia for some time and testing positive for Covid-19 last week.

The World War Two veteran, who raised £33 million for NHS charities by walking in his back garden during the pandemic, has not had the jab because he is on medication for pneumonia.

A spokeswoman for the family revealed: "Because of the medication he was taking for his pneumonia he couldn’t have the Covid jab."

According to a statement from Sir Tom's daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore, her dad tested positive for coronavirus last week and was taken to a Bedford hospital after needing extra help with his breathing.

Who else has been advised not to have the Pfizer and Oxford vaccine, which are being rolled out as part of the UK's biggest immunisation programme?

Pregnant women

According to the Government's website, there is insufficient evidence to recommend COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy, although "the available data does not indicate any safety concern or harm to pregnancy".

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises pregnant women should be considered for the jab where the risk of exposure to the virus is high and cannot be avoided.

They can also be considered when they have underlying conditions that put them at very high risk of serious complications of COVID-19.

JCVI advises that women who are breastfeeding can be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, but stresses health benefits concerning breastfeeding should be considered along with the woman’s clinical need for protection against COVID-19.

They should also be informed about there is an absence of safety data on breastfeeding women having the vaccine.

File photo dated 24/05/18 of a pregnant woman. More than half of pregnant women are overweight or obese at the start of pregnancy and the figure is rising, data shows..

Children

Children under 16-years-old are also on the list of people who won't be offered the vaccine.

As with pregnant women, there is very limited data on vaccinating teenagers, with no data on how vaccines impact younger children.

JCVI says after catching coronavirus, almost all children will have asymptomatic infection or a mild disease.

The Government statement reads: "The committee advises that only those children at very high risk of exposure and serious outcomes, such as older children with severe neuro-disabilities that require residential care, should be offered vaccination with either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the AstraZeneca vaccine."

School children.

Anyone with specific allergies

People who are allergic to the vaccine's ingredients have been warned not to have it.

The Government's leaflet for UK residents states the vaccine's active substance is BNT162b2 RNA.

After dilution, the vial contains six doses, of 0.3 mL with 30 micrograms mRNA each.

The other ingredients are:

- ALC-0315 = (4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis(2-hexyldecanoate),

- ALC-0159 = 2[(polyethylene glycol)-2000]-N,N-ditetradecylacetamide,

- 1,2-Distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine,

- cholesterol,

- potassium chloride,

- potassium dihydrogen phosphate,

- sodium chloride,

- disodium hydrogen phosphate dihydrate,

- sucrose

- water for injections

The leaflet adds signs of an allergic reaction may include itchy skin rash, shortness of breath and swelling of the face or tongue.

Patients should contact their doctor or healthcare professional immediately or go to the nearest hospital emergency room right away if they have an allergic reaction.

A patient being given a dose of a coronavirus vaccine (Picture: PA)

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