An independent body has said that leaving people with learning disabilities far down the priority list for covid-19 vaccines would violate their human rights.

Deliveries of the first vaccine to Scotland are expected to be made early next week and injections could start from Tuesday, after the medical regulator approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

The Scottish Commission for Learning Disability is calling for changes to the vaccine priority list, pointing out that people with learning disabilities had suffered disproportionately during the pandemic.

Data from England has revealed a “shocking” death rate among those with a learning disability that could be six times higher than the general population.

The list, which is set across the UK by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, was revealed yesterday, and will see the jabs given in waves to groups deemed most at-risk.

The experts said that age was the “single greatest” risk factor for covid-19, recommending that vaccinations start with care home residents, followed by all those over 80 and frontline health and care staff.

Next will be over-75s, and then all those over 70 and everyone classed as extremely clinically vulnerable.

This group includes those with ‘severe and profound’ learning disability.

But the Scottish Commission for Learning Disability has today said that people with learning disabilities should be prioritised for the covid-19 vaccine in the earlier waves of its delivery.

In a statement the Commission said: ‘People with learning disabilities experience far worse health outcomes than the general population and see their human rights violated on a consistent basis.

‘These conditions were not created by the pandemic, but they have been exacerbated by it.

‘Based on available data and informed by human rights considerations, we believe there is a strong case for people with learning disabilities being treated as an urgent priority for covid-19 vaccinations.’

Detailed research on how the virus has affected Scots with learning disabilities is still in development, but data from Public Health England found that the death rate among people with learning disabilities could be three to six times higher than the rest of the population.

The Commission says the disparities are even starker at in younger age brackets, with covid-19 deaths peaking in the 55-64 age group.

They warn that health outcomes were already worse before the pandemic hit, with research showing the risk of early death was 12 times higher for young people with learning disabilities.

Changing the priority list has been backed by charity Mencap, whose head of policy Dan Scorer said: “The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation only made modest changes to prioritising people with a learning disability.

“The question must be asked whether this is enough to address the shocking rate of deaths amongst people with a learning disability, who already faced serious health inequalities before covid.

“The pandemic has exacerbated these inequalities and they can no longer be ignored, too many people have already died.”