Coronavirus: Vaccination

(asked on 8th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people providing home care for vulnerable people have been prioritised for covid-19 vaccination in the same tranche as care home residents and staff; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Nadhim Zahawi Portrait
Nadhim Zahawi
This question was answered on 22nd December 2020

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that the vaccine should first be given to care home residents and staff, as well as by people over 80 years old and health and social care workers.

Included in the definition of ‘social care workers’ as per the Green Book are care home staff, personal assistants to personal budget holders, domiciliary support workers and day centre workers. Also included are those non-clinical ancillary staff in care homes who may have social contact with patients but are not directly involved in patient care.

Social care workers include those working in long-stay residential and nursing care homes or other long-stay care facilities where rapid spread is likely to follow introduction of infection and cause high morbidity and mortality. This is also, social care staff directly involved in the care of their patients or clients and others involved directly in delivering social care such that they and vulnerable patients and clients are at increased risk of exposure.

We recognise the vital role unpaid carers play in caring for vulnerable individuals and we will provide further details on their access to the vaccine in due course.

Reticulating Splines