Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that housebound patients can receive covid-19 vaccinations and boosters at home.
Answered by Maggie Throup
For patients who usually receive their treatment at home and are considered to be housebound, general practitioners (GPs) and community teams will determine the best approach to vaccination, based on their knowledge of the patient and their circumstances. Some patients may be able to attend a Primary Care Network (PCN) designated site with assistance and a discussion should be held with the patient’s family and/or carer to facilitate this.
Where a GP practice participates in the Enhanced Service for the COVID-19 vaccination programme, the practice should make provision for booster doses for to be given to patients who are housebound and are unable to attend a PCN site. Where a practice is not part of the Enhanced Service, the practice should contact their local clinical commissioning group to make alternative arrangements for such patients via another PCN grouping. PCNs have also established mobile vaccination teams, which are aimed at those who are unable to leave their homes. NHS England and NHS Improvement have also introduced a range of measures to support GP practices to increase capacity, from additional workforce availability to increases in the supplement paid for booster vaccinations of housebound patients.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a medical history involving an episode or episodes of myocarditis in a midwife will be sufficient condition for exemption from covid-19 vaccination under plans to require covid-19 vaccinations for healthcare workers.
Answered by Edward Argar
The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021 provide for a medical exemption from vaccination. Individuals who believe that they may be medically exempt, such as those with a medical history involving episodes of myocarditis, should contact their doctor or specialist clinician for advice. Guidance on medical exemptions is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-medical-exemptions-proving-you-are-unable-to-get-vaccinated
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to ensure that the NHS Covid-19 app can accommodate the covid-19 vaccination records of people who have had one vaccination in England and another in Scotland without the need for them to travel to appointments designed for people who have been vaccinated overseas.
Answered by Maggie Throup
NHS Digital has established bi-directional live data flows between England and Scotland which update the general practitioner (GP) record and NHS COVID Pass status. Individuals who have received one or both of their primary course vaccines in Scotland can access the NHS COVID Pass, provided they are registered with a GP in England or otherwise have an National Health Service number. Individuals do not need to attend an appointment to ensure their NHS COVID Pass status is updated, as this should happen automatically.
The NHS COVID-19 App is primarily a contact tracing app. Users are anonymous so it cannot be used as proof of vaccination status. The NHS App provides access to a range of services including the NHS COVID Pass.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will extend the life of paper covid-19 vaccination certificates beyond 30 days to enable longer overseas travel for people without smart phones.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The travel NHS COVID Pass letter is currently valid for a period of 30 days as a protection measure against fraud. Expiration dates on the travel NHS COVID Pass letter will be kept under review. Alternatively, the travel NHS COVID Pass can be downloaded at NHS.UK and printed.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to enable persons vaccinated abroad to have their vaccinated status authenticated locally.
Answered by Maggie Throup
English residents are now able to book a face-to-face appointment to visit a vaccination centre to update their vaccination record in the National Immunisation Management System. Bookings can be made online using the National Booking Service or via 119. A number of vaccination centres are offering this service in England and the list of sites will be expanded in due course.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2021 to Question 78343 on Travel: Coronavirus, what recent progress has been made on enabling 12 to 15 year olds to prove their double covid-19 vaccinated status for the purpose of travel overseas.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Children aged 12 to 15 years old in England who have had a full course of COVID-19 vaccination are now eligible for a NHS COVID Pass letter for travel. Proof of vaccination will initially be provided via a letter including an internationally recognised barcode. A digital solution via NHS.uk is to be rolled out early next year.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will update the NHS Covid-19 App with a QR code to enable children between the ages of 12 and 15 to provide evidence of their recent recovery from covid-19 so that they can travel overseas.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The NHS COVID-19 App is primarily a contact tracing app which is available to those aged 16 years old and over. App users are anonymous so it cannot be used as proof of vaccination status. The NHS App provides access to a range of services including vaccination status and the NHS COVID pass.
There are no plans to allow children aged between 12 to 15 years old to provide evidence of their recent recovery for overseas travel. No countries recognise natural immunity as an exclusive qualifier for relaxed border measures. Where natural immunity is recognised, vaccination and/or testing are also always accepted. We are looking at ways for children aged 12 years old and over with two vaccinations to demonstrate their vaccination status for international travel. This will be available shortly, initially via an NHS COVID Pass travel letter. Further information will be made available in due course.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the mandatory covid-19 vaccination of frontline NHS staff, which clinician will decide whether a member of staff may receive an authorised exemption from that requirement on the basis of individual medical history.
Answered by Maggie Throup
To apply for a medical exemption, an individual should contact the NHS COVID Pass Service via 119. The published guidance on medical exemptions from COVID-19 vaccination sets out that applications will be clinically reviewed by a general practitioner, specialist clinician or midwife. The guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-medical-exemptions-proving-you-are-unable-to-get-vaccinated
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to vaccinate home schooled children between the ages of 12 and 17 against covid-19.
Answered by Maggie Throup
As of 23 August 2021, the Government met its target of offering a first dose of the Pfizer vaccine to all 16 and 17 year-olds in England. This age group are vaccinated through the adult vaccination system. Anyone in this age group who has not yet been vaccinated can book an appointment at a vaccination centre using the online booking system or via a Walk in centres.
Those aged from 12 to 15 years old have been offered vaccination primarily through a schools-based programme. As with other school age vaccination programmes, arrangements are made locally to ensure that children outside mainstream educational provision are also offered vaccination. The COVID-19 vaccination programme has now expanded to allow parents or guardians to choose whether their child receives their dose in school or at a vaccination centre. The schools-based vaccination offer will continue in schools during the autumn. Parents and guardians can now book an appointment through the national booking system for the initial vaccine dose for all children aged between 12 to 15 years old including those who are home schooled.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to enable people who have received the Sinovac covid-19 vaccine to be recognised as fully vaccinated.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We have no plans to do so at present.
We are taking a phased approach to inbound vaccination programmes in other countries and territories, building on the success of our pilot with the United States and Europe. Vaccine certification between countries and territories varies and certificates and apps must meet our minimum requirements. We will expand the policy to more countries and territories where it is safe to do so.