Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to support those with severe trypanophobia accessing the covid-19 vaccine; and what steps he is taking to support exemptions for that group.

COVID-19 vaccinators have received appropriate training to make sure individuals attending a vaccination appointment feel safe. NHS England and NHS Improvement recommend that individuals with a needle phobia contact the vaccination centre prior to attendance, to determine what mitigations they have for such patients and if any special arrangements could be made to help the recipient feel more comfortable.

Individuals can apply for a medical exemption by calling the NHS COVID Pass service on 119. The possible reasons for exemptions are limited, such as severe allergies to all currently available vaccines. Clinical judgement will then be used to determine whether an individual is exempt from vaccination or not.