Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to update the General Dental Council's legal powers to allow temporary re-registration of retired dentists to administer covid-19 vaccines in line with the General Medical Council.
Retired dentists do not need to be registered with the General Dental Council to be able to administer COVID-19 vaccines.
In October 2020 changes were made to the Human Medicines Regulations to expand the workforce capable of legally administering the flu and potential COVID-19 vaccines. The changes enable more healthcare professionals to participate in giving vaccinations and include the possibility that individuals who are not registered healthcare professionals will also be able to vaccinate with appropriate training and supervision.