Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rate of COVID-19 vaccinations; and what plans they have to promote take-up of the vaccine.
Answered by Lord Kamall
Over 13 million people have already received their COVID-19 booster vaccination or third dose. We continue to review the effectiveness of the programme in order to maximise the COVID-19 booster vaccination campaign.
There are more clinics in England delivering COVID-19 vaccines, including pharmacies, general practitioner practices and other community sites. There are hundreds of walk-in sites offering booster vaccines without an appointment. In addition, COVID-19 booster vaccines have been delivered or scheduled in nine out of ten care homes in England.
Initiatives to promote the programme have included bespoke social media communications and the ‘Boost your immunity this winter’ launched in mid-October, encouraging all those eligible to take up the booster vaccine when offered. The advertising is forecast to reach 99% of all adults throughout the nine week period of the campaign.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the covid-19 vaccination rate in Jamaica.
Answered by Vicky Ford
As the Prime Minister has announced, vaccinations are a key part of ensuring we defeat this pandemic and return to normal. The UK has donated 300,000 AstraZeneca vaccines to Jamaica. All residents of Jamaica aged 12 and over can now get access to vaccines, but the take-up rate remains low. As of 2 January 2021, 1.21 million doses have been administered. The number of fully vaccinated persons is 567,000, and 24% of the island's population has received at least one dose. We continue to work closely with Jamaica and support their vaccination implementation plan.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of requiring teaching and school staff to receive coivd-19 vaccinations.
Answered by Robin Walker
Vaccines are the best way we can protect ourselves and help keep children and young people in face-to-face education.
People aged 18 years and over, and those aged 16 years and over who are at risk (including health and social care workers) will be offered a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. All eligible staff and students aged 12 and over are encouraged to take up the offer of the vaccine, including boosters where eligible.
However, unless an employee is unable to do their role as a result of being unvaccinated, which is unlikely to be the case in schools, then employers cannot set vaccination status as a condition of employment.
The government currently has no plans to make vaccinations mandatory for teachers in schools or colleges.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of NHS clinicians who are currently unvaccinated; and how many of those clinicians will be prohibited from engaging in clinical practice after 1 April 2022 when covid-19 vaccination becomes mandatory for NHS staff.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
NHS England and NHS Improvement does not publish uptake data for specific workforce segments; however latest figures show that roughly 92,000 National Health Service (NHS) staff in England had not received the first dose of the vaccine as of 12th December. The Impact Assessment for these requirements sets out the estimated number of workers that would remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 at the end of the 12-week grace period despite not being medically exempt. This number was estimated to be 73,000 for NHS staff.
From 1 April 2022, the number of unvaccinated clinicians will depend on individual decisions and the positive choice to take up the offer of COVID-19 vaccination. The Government is focussed on driving an increase in uptake, with an overall net increase of NHS staff vaccinated with a first dose of over 55,000 since the Government consulted on the policy in September.
The impact assessment can be found at the following link:
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase take-up of the covid-19 booster vaccine amongst care home residents.
Answered by Maggie Throup
All care home residents are eligible for a COVID-19 booster vaccination at three months since their second dose was administered. Booster doses have been delivered at over 99% of older adult care homes in England. Roving vaccination teams will continue to visit care homes to deliver additional doses required. Where there are care homes currently experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, booked visits by vaccination teams will take place when it is safe for all to do so.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what impact assessment he has undertaken of the potential effect of mandatory covid-19 vaccines on the retention of black and minority ethnic staff in the NHS.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
An equality impact statement was published alongside the Government’s response to the consultation on vaccination as a condition of deployment. This set out that if the policy is implemented and workers do not take up the offer of vaccination, a higher proportion of staff from ethnic minority groups could be unable to satisfy their employers that they can be deployed in accordance with the requirements of the regulations.
The assessment also set out evidence that individuals from minority ethnic groups are at increased risk of mortality from COVID-19. Therefore, making COVID-19 vaccination a condition of deployment is likely to have a particularly beneficial effect on the outcomes of infection in some staff from ethnic groups.
The National Health Service has focused on a targeted approach to improve uptake in hesitant groups, undertaking campaigns directed towards black, Asian and minority ethnic groups in particular, as well as using the booster campaign as an opportunity to re-engage staff.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he will take to increase the take-up of the covid-19 vaccine in schools in York.
Answered by Robin Walker
Vaccinations are the best way to protect people from COVID-19. As of 11 December 2021, 44.7% of 12 to 15 year olds, 61% of 16 to 17 year olds and 68.4% of 18 to 24 year olds in England received a first dose of the vaccine. As of 11 December, 59.7% of 18 to 24 year olds in England have received a second dose. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has also announced on 29 November that young people aged 12 to 15 in England will be offered a second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination, following advice from Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jcvi-advice-on-covid-19-booster-vaccines-for-those-aged-18-to-39-and-a-second-dose-for-ages-12-to-15.
Throughout autumn, thousands of schools have held vaccination clinics and over 1.25 million young people have received a vaccination either in school or via the out of school offer. Healthy 12 to 15 year olds can receive their first COVID-19 vaccination in their school or out of school, such as through vaccination centres. The two offers run in parallel. 16 and 17 year olds are eligible for two doses of the COVID-19 vaccination. They will be able to access both doses through the adult vaccination system. They can access the first vaccination at GP surgeries, vaccination centres via the national booking system and at some walk in COVID-19 vaccination sites.
To accelerate the COVID-19 programme in schools, the NHS has bolstered the in-school offer to make it more efficient and increase the scale and pace of delivery, as well as target communications to parents, young people, and the public to improve uptake and increase overall confidence in the programme. We continue to work on increasing uptake through repeat offers. To support schools, and based on feedback we gathered we have published new ‘how to’ guides, available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cT6adcSVsLer0kvcSuI4QcBYdlmdgb5x. This includes useful information and resources for schools, including a template letter that can be used to communicate with parents. The COVID-19 vaccination guidance and leaflets for parents, children and young people are being translated by Public Health England (PHE). The accessible versions include braille, British Sign Language (BSL), and web and print versions in 27 languages.
To ensure even more young people can get the vaccine as quickly as possible the national booking system is open for vaccination bookings for young people.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 fill vacancies made available through people losing their jobs in the NHS as a result of refusing to have a mandatory covid-19 vaccine.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We continue to encourage all health workers to make the positive choice to take up the COVID-19 vaccine to help protect the people they care for, themselves and their colleagues. We have implemented a 12-week grace period, allowing time for both workforce planning and for those who are not yet vaccinated against who may now wish to do so. We have set an enforcement date of 1 April 2022 to assist providers over the winter period and minimise workforce pressures. We are increasing opportunities to receive the vaccine through the booster programme such as walk-in and pop-up sites.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have written to all providers providing early guidance on vaccination as a condition of deployment to ensure smooth implementation and assist preparation and planning. Guidance has also been provided on the use of one to one conversations for all unvaccinated National Health Service staff with line managers. We are also increasing engagement with targeted communities where uptake is the lowest, including ethnic minority and faith networks to encourage healthcare workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
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 make up for the shortfall of NHS staff who may leave the NHS after refusing to take the covid-19 vaccine.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We continue to encourage all health workers to make the positive choice to take up the COVID-19 vaccine to help protect the people they care for, themselves and their colleagues. We have implemented a 12-week grace period, allowing time for both workforce planning, and for those colleagues who are not yet vaccinated who may now wish to do so. The enforcement date of 1 April 2022 will assist providers over the winter and help to minimise workforce pressures. We are also increasing the range of opportunities for staff to receive the vaccine through walk-in and pop-up sites as part of the booster vaccination campaign.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have written to all providers providing early guidance on vaccination as a condition of deployment to ensure smooth implementation and have provided guidance to assist providers in preparation and planning. Guidance has also been provide on the use of one to one conversations for all unvaccinated National Health Service staff with line managers. We are also increasing engagement with targeted communities where uptake is lowest, including with ethnic minority and faith networks to encourage healthcare workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage those who are eligible for COVID-19 booster vaccinations to take up their offer.
Answered by Lord Kamall
A national ‘BOOST your immunity this winter’ communications campaign was launched in mid-October. This sets out the importance of those eligible receiving their COVID-19 booster vaccination. We are sponsoring information articles in more than 600 newspaper titles, including multicultural newspapers in multiple languages. The COVID-19 vaccination leaflets produced by UK Health Security Agency have also been translated into 27 languages including Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Hindi, Panjabi and Urdu. This is supported by Ministers, scientists and clinicians and community and faith leaders, alongside social media messaging.
There are more clinics in England delivering COVID-19 vaccines, including pharmacies, general practitioner (GP) practices and other community sites. Hundreds of walk-in sites are offering booster vaccines without an appointment. In addition, COVID-19 booster vaccinations have been delivered or scheduled in nine out of ten care homes in England. The National Booking Service has also been updated to allow those eligible for a booster vaccine to pre-book their appointment five months after their second dose.