NEWS
CONSULTATION LAUNCHED ON COVID-19 April, a consultation was launched on making the
VACCINES FOR CARE HOME STAFF On 14th
COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for staff in care homes with older adult residents in England.
Experts on the social care working group of SAGE advise that 80% of staff and 90% of residents need to be vaccinated to provide a minimum level of protection against outbreaks of COVID-19. Only 53% of older adult homes in England are currently meeting this threshold.
This means nearly half of all care homes with older adult residents, home to 150,000 vulnerable people, don’t meet SAGE’s recommended vaccination thresholds for care homes and staff.
Currently, the staff vaccination rate is below 80% in 89 local authority areas - more than half - and all 32 London boroughs. There are 27 local authority areas with a staff vaccination rate below 70%.
The five-week consultation will look at requiring care home providers, caring for older adults, to deploy only those workers who have received their COVID-19 vaccination, to further protect residents who are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19, and staff.
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Older people living in care homes are most at risk of suffering serious consequences of COVID-19 and we have seen the grave effects the virus has had on this group.
10 MILLION PEOPLE IN UK RECEIVE SECOND COVID-19 VACCINE DOSE
“Making vaccines a condition of deployment is something many care homes have called for, to help them provide greater protection for staff and residents in older people’s care homes and so save lives.
“The vaccine is already preventing deaths and is our route out of this pandemic. We have a duty of care to those most vulnerable to COVID-19, so it is right we consider all options to keep people safe.”
This will not include those who can provide evidence of a medical exemption from the COVID-19 vaccination.
With some providers already implementing similar policies, the consultation will help inform decision-making around how the change could be implemented and whether respondents think it will be beneficial.
The consultation will seek views on the proposal, its scope, any potential impact it could have on staffing and safety, as well as how it is implemented and who could be exempt.
Staff, providers, stakeholders, residents and their families are being urged to take part to have their views heard with a final decision expected this summer.
Chair of the Adult Social Care Covid-19 Taskforce, David Pearson, said: “I would like to thank all our social care workers for providing care and support during the last very difficult year, for having the vaccine and supporting people who have social care services to be vaccinated.
“It is absolutely vital those who have not yet taken the opportunity to have their vaccine do so to keep themselves and those they care for safe.”
“I want to thank the brilliant staff and volunteers involved in the rollout, and urge all those who are called to keep coming forward.”
The government has already hit its target of offering everybody in cohorts 1 to 9 - those aged 50 and over, the clinically vulnerable and health and social care workers - a first dose of the vaccine by 15th
April and remains on track to offer a jab to all adults by the end of July.
Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “Vaccines have already saved more than 10,000 lives and they are the best way to protect you and your loved ones from this dreadful disease.
Over 10 million people in the UK have received their second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Health services across the UK have now administered over 43 million vaccines between 8th
December and 18th April,
including over 32 million people with their first dose and over 10 million with their second.
The milestone means over 19% of all UK adults have received both vaccines.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Vaccines offer us the best possible protection from the virus, so it is fantastic that 10 million people have now received their second dose.
“This is another remarkable milestone in our vaccination programme, which has already saved thousands of lives.
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“We want to send this virus into retreat. No matter who you are, where you live, your race or your religion, I encourage everyone to get both doses when offered and help this country return life to normal.”
All vaccines being used in the UK have undergone robust clinical trials and have met the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s strict standards of safety, effectiveness and quality.
To date, the government has invested over £300 million into manufacturing a successful vaccine to enable a rapid roll out.
The UK government is committed to supporting equitable access to vaccines worldwide. The UK is the largest donor to the COVAX facility, the global mechanism to help developing countries access a coronavirus vaccine, and has committed £548 million in UK aid to help distribute 1.3 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines to 92 developing countries this year.
www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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