Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of prioritising people in close contact with the clinically extremely vulnerable for the covid-19 vaccine over people in the same age and health category who are not in close contact with clinically extremely vulnerable people.

Those who are clinically extremely vulnerable are in priority group four and should already have been offered their first vaccination dose, not through a strategy of vaccinating their close contacts. Adult carers will also be prioritised for a vaccination and are included in priority group six. This includes those who are eligible for Carer’s Allowance, or those who are the sole or primary carer of an elderly or disabled person who is at increased risk of COVID-19 mortality and therefore clinically vulnerable.