Covid-19

Lord Young of Norwood Green Excerpts

Monday 15th November 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

A lot of investment has gone into making sure that there is ventilation in schools. I will talk to my counterpart in the Department for Education to see what more can be done, but I know that the department is very aware of this issue and is looking more into it.

On the noble Baroness’s first question, we want to be clear and not confuse the message: vaccinations work and are our best line of defence. We do not want people to get a false hope that there are other ways to protect themselves. Not all people who do not take the vaccine are anti-vaxxers: some of them think that just wearing a mask may well protect them.

We want to focus on this message: get vaccinated; if you have been, get your booster; and if you have had your first vaccine, get your second one. There is nothing to fear from getting vaccinated. We are not only sending that message out but actively looking at different campaigns to reach those difficult-to-reach individuals in many communities.

[Lord Young of Norwood Green (Lab)]

My Lords, on the importance of vaccination, what are the Government doing to combat the anti-vax message? My second point is on the terrible situation in hospitals, where paramedics are forced to stay and wait with patients. There must be something that we can do to alleviate that situation until there is a long-term solution. Have we identified best practice? The Government ought to be thinking outside the box about what we can do to stop paramedics being trapped in hospital, denying them the ability to deal with other urgent cases.

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

I am sorry, but my memory has gone. What was the noble Lord’s first question?

[Lord Young of Norwood Green (Lab)]

It was on anti-vaxxers.

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

The issue of anti-vaxxers is very difficult in a society where we believe in freedom of speech. Clearly, if they are impeding people from attending school, going to certain places or getting vaccinated, that is obstruction. However, if they are saying that they do not believe that the vaccines are safe or whatever, it is really difficult and we have to get that balance right. We are clear that we want people to be vaccinated but, at the same time, we believe in freedom of speech. Quite often, if you really believe in freedom of speech, you have to allow people to say things that you disagree with, I am afraid. However, where they are actively blocking people from getting vaccinated, I think we have work to do.

As for thinking outside the box, we are looking at a number of different areas. For example, the other day I heard a case of someone who had forgotten his asthma inhaler. His partner told him, “Stay here, I’ll get you another one from the all-night chemist”. The all-night pharmacist said, “I can’t administer that”. She then went to A&E with her partner’s details. A&E said, “No, he has to come in here”. In the end, when she went back to the hotel, the hotel said, “We’ll have to call the ambulance”. All that could have been avoided had there been a way for the person who had forgotten his inhaler simply to get another one, rather than having to call in paramedics. Therefore, there are a number of different ways that we can think outside the box to make sure that we do not put undue pressure on the NHS at this time.