People with chronic conditions are demanding assurances that they will be vaccinated against COVID-19 before those who “unfairly” seek to get bumped up the queue, heightening their anxiety after a year of “no life”.

They are calling for clarity and peace of mind, following sacrifices they have been facing since March.

Since the rollout started slowly this year, in what has become a fight for the vaccine, anyone from teachers to bank employees, the maritime industry and healthcare students in contact with patients have made a case to be prioritised in the programme, raising concern among the medically vulnerable that they would be pushed down the line.

The Maltese have, in fact, been found to be the keenest in Europe to get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a Eurobarometer survey.

But meningitis survivor and transplantee Amy Camilleri Zahra, who has borne the brunt of being immunocompromised in the pandemic, has shone the spotlight on others like her, asking: “What about us?”

Although due for vaccination at the end of February, the fact that they have not been mentioned has led to uncertainty, worry and anger.

Camilleri Zahra highlighted that the vaccine is also vital for their families, who have been making sacrifices to protect them for almost a year now.

She is speaking up for all young people living with anything from multiple sclerosis to cystic fibrosis, diabetes, on dialysis and other transplantees.

“They have been living in heightened anxiety, with the majority not even sending their children to school because they can actually die if they catch COVID-19,” Camilleri Zahra said.

“Our children are doing this to protect us,” she pointed out, asking the authorities: “When exactly will we get our vaccine,” the activist and academic asking, pointing out to the different cohorts being bumped up the list every week.

We cannot be pushed down the list after all this wait

Among these are patients about to start chemotherapy, she was pleased to note, pointing out, however, that the medically vulnerable remained in the dark.

Some of these have young families who depend on them and are contributors to the economy and society too, Camilleri Zahra said.

ALS patient Bjorn Formosa had also pleaded for those most at risk, like patients at Dar Bjorn, to be included among the first to be vaccinated together with residents in other care homes.

Dar Bjorn has 13 of the most vulnerable persons in Malta, he said, many suffering from respiratory insufficiency.

Ilona Debattista, who suffers from two auto-immune diseases, and has kept her four-year-old son out of school since March, was deeply concerned that other groups, including teachers, were being considered for vaccine priority.

“We wake up in the morning to check the news and see if some other group has jumped the queue from May, June or July. We cannot be pushed down the list after all this wait.

“No one is saying that front-liners and the elderly should not go before the vulnerable  but others should not be vaccinated before us because, at the end of the day, they continued living and working, unlike us,” Debattista insisted.

While she can work online, she is aware that many others in her position cannot.

Describing how she has lived her life since the pandemic started, Debattista said: “At home!”

Her husband too has been housebound and the three times he ventured to the office, a colleague tested positive and he had to leave the family home.

“In all, we have been separated for a month as a result,” Debattista said.

“Unlike others, our bubble is our immediate family. Everyone has been affected, including my parents, for a whole year. I met my best friend once in 2020! We have spent birthdays, Christmas, New Year at home.

“Others have not and now they want to be prioritised,” she said.

Debattista, 36, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 23 and rheumatoid arthritis 10 years later.

Vaccination has wider consequences for her in that even her son can finally have a normal life. Until then, she cannot take any risks.

“It means we can start to live like others, wear masks and social distance. We have not even been able to do that much!”