Jo Whiley’s sister Frances sends ‘thank you’ message after leaving hospital following Covid battle

Jo Whiley’s sister has sent a “thank you” message to fans after being discharged from hospital.

Frances has a learning disability and diabetes, and caught coronavirus after an outbreak at her care home in Northamptonshire.

She was admitted to hospital last week, and the virus left her fighting for her life.

Whiley said on Tuesday that her family had gone from discussing palliative care for her sister on Friday night to sitting on Frances’s favourite bench “drinking cups of tea”.

The BBC Radio 2 presenter tweeted: “Frances would like to say a huge thank you to everybody who has helped her, especially the amazing doctors and nurses of the NHS, and her many MANY well-wishers.”

The DJ went on to express her hope that more people with learning disabilities would soon be getting the vaccine.

She wrote: “Not everyone has been as lucky as us. So many have died or are suffering from long Covid because they were simply not protected. We need to show them that they are not forgotten and we care.”

Earlier this month, the presenter spoke of her distress at being offered the vaccine before her sister.

Whiley, 55, said she “failed to understand” why she had being offered a vaccine spot before Frances.

The Radio 2 DJ suggested it could be because she is classed as a carer for Frances.

People with profound learning disabilities fall into vaccine priority group six (people with underlying health conditions).

People in this group have now begun to receive invites for the jab.

However, the government’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised GPs to use their “clinical discretion” to identify who belongs in this category.

According to government figures, people with learning disabilities are up to six times more likely to die from Covid.

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