A CABBIES' leader has called for taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to be made a priority group for coronavirus vaccination.

Ashraf Mangera, who chairs the Blackburn with Darwen Hackney Carriage Association, said they should be treated as 'frontline workers' in the pandemic.

Blackburn with Darwen Council's director of public health Professor Dominic Harrison give qualified backing to moving the drivers up the priority list in the future.

Mr Mangera said: "I believe all taxi and private hire vehicle drivers should be a priority group for the coronavirus vaccination.

"They are frontline workers in this pandemic.

"They are used to drive key vulnerable groups around such as the elderly and the disabled, often to hospital or to and from care homes.

"They also ferry NHS workers about when public transport is not available to do school runs for pupils.

"Even though the council fitted our cabs with screens, we are a vulnerable group and vaccination would give drivers and passengers - especially older people and the disabled - extra protection."

Professor Harrison said: “The Office for National Statistics has just published a report on Covid infection and mortality risks by occupation and this confirms taxi drivers are in a higher risk occupation.

"This will be for the obvious reason that many will have been out and about during all three lockdowns, exposed to many more contacts than most other occupations.

"Blackburn with Darwen Council has already taken measures to fit screens in taxis and offered testing to drivers.

"NHS advice on priority groups remains as advised by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation - to vaccinate first the nine most clinically vulnerable groups including frontline health and care staff and the clinically extremely vulnerable.

"We understand, once this is completed, prioritisation by other criteria such as occupation may be considered. .

"One the one hand taxi drivers are undoubtedly more likely to be infected. However, not all taxi drivers are necessarily clinically vulnerable. The vaccination priority list is primarily trying to reduce hospitalisation and deaths – so it should include those taxi drivers at most risk already."

Professor Wei Shen Lim, Covid-19 chair for the JCVI, said: “Our advice on Covid-19 vaccine prioritisation was developed with the aim of preventing as many deaths as possible. As the single greatest risk of death from Covid-19 is older age, prioritisation is primarily based on age.

“It is estimated that vaccinating everyone in the priority groups would prevent 99 per cent of deaths, including those associated with occupational exposure to infection.”