Izzie

My name is Izzie, and I am based in the UK.

I have cystic fibrosis; a life-threatening, chronic condition causing passageways in my lungs and digestive system to become blocked with thick, sticky secretions over time, leading to fatal lung damage.

This means I rely on four hours of medication daily and constant hospital admissions. And the unpredictable nature of my illness means that I could be hit with agonising pancreatitis and left unable to move or wake up with severe chest pain with no warning. Like so many others, I rely on the NHS to stay alive.

Due to my CF I also fall into the extremely vulnerable, high risk category. So When Covid-19 hit, I went into isolation and didn’t even start coming out until two years later.

Due to the pandemic all my CF care was moved to online video clinics and phone calls. This means I have had to manage my illness alone, leaving me constantly terrified of getting unwell.  

This period was extremely lonely and devastating for me. The nature of the virus and having to avoid people and places had a big impact on my mental health. 

Another thing that’s been extremely difficult to deal with is the fact that I was able to get access to a COVID vaccine before my family in India. It was heartbreaking because I had elderly relatives who were stuck in their flats not able to leave at all for anything, and the country was having such a big crisis. People couldn’t access things like oxygen and the hospitals were being overwhelmed. I was just so terrified.

It seems completely unjust that while I’ve had 4 jabs, billions of people in lower and middle income countries haven’t even been offered a single vaccine. Our lives in the West are not more valuable than the rest of the world. Ensuring universal access to treatment and vaccines is essential to bring an end to global pandemics.

“I have spent years watching people I know die as they cannot get their hands-on lifesaving medication. I am not willing to do it again.”

We cannot allow the same mistakes to be repeated. We need governments to take action to make sure that medical tools are affordable and accessible to people who need them wherever they live in the world. Over the last few years we’ve seen more starkly than ever that big pharma won’t think twice about profiting from our suffering - we must demand an end to this dangerous and immoral model.

I have spent years watching people I know die as they cannot get their hands-on lifesaving medication. I am not willing to do it again. We can’t allow market forces to dictate the value of our lives. None of us are safe until all of us are safe.