Coronavirus: Vaccination

(asked on 1st February 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the vaccination of maritime workers by Singapore, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on prioritising maritime workers for covid-19 vaccination.


Answered by
Nadhim Zahawi Portrait
Nadhim Zahawi
This question was answered on 16th February 2021

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has had a number of discussions with Cabinet colleagues on prioritisation for COVID-19 vaccination.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine/s the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on who should be offered the vaccination first. The key principles are to reduce mortality, to protect the health and care systems and save lives. For the first phase, the JCVI has advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, as well as frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors.

Prioritisation decisions for the next phase are subject to surveillance and monitoring data and information from phase one, as well as further input from independent scientific experts such as the JCVI. Phase two may include further reduction in hospitalisation and targeted vaccination of those at high risk of exposure and/or those delivering key public services.

Reticulating Splines