Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the availability of the covid-19 vaccine to people who are housebound in (a) Weaver Vale constituency and (b) the UK; and what steps he is taking to ensure that all people who are housebound are offered the covid-19 vaccine.

Every eligible adult in England aged 18 years old and over has been offered a COVID-19 booster vaccination, including all those who are housebound. Local arrangements have been in place, with general practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacies, supported by volunteers, visiting those who are housebound.

National Health Service regions, Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and community pharmacy-led local vaccination services have monitored progress and identified any further interventions required. In Weaver Vale, Halton Clinical Commissioning Group has worked with its PCNs and vaccination services to ensure that people who are housebound have been fully vaccinated and received booster doses, based on records for housebound patients held by individual practices. In the first week of January 2022, the PCNs in the area confirmed that all eligible housebound patients had been offered a booster vaccination.