Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department will take to ensure that people who are housebound receive a covid-19 vaccination.

We have worked to ensure that we have the logistical expertise, transport, and workforce in place to rollout a vaccine at the speed at which it can be manufactured. In line with the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the vaccine will initially be rolled out to priority groups, including care home residents and staff, people over 80 years old, and health and care workers. The vaccine will then be prioritised amongst the rest of the population in order of age and risk, including those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and all individuals aged 16-64 years old with underlying health conditions.

The JCVI appreciates that operational considerations, such as minimising wastage, may require deviation from the prioritisation order as outlined in the statement, where decisions are taken in consultation with national or local public health advice. We will follow the advice of the JCVI on clinical prioritisation which supports vaccinating those most at risk of death from COVID-19. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine involves some logistical challenges and we are working hard to ensure that it is available to those most at risk.