Agenda item

Debbie Simmons, Nurse Director of West Berkshire CCG, provided an update on the rollout of the vaccines. She noted that:

·       Vaccine programmes were changing frequently given the new national guidance

·       The ‘hospital hub’ went live on 14 December in Wokingham Hospital to originally vaccinate those in category 1 (social and health care staff)

·       The hub now had the capability to vaccinate double the amount of people it could at the start of the programme

·       The hub was running 6 days per week

·       local authority front line staff could now also access a vaccine, such as care home staff

·       she noted that the up-take had been slow to start with but was now starting to gather pace

·       Primary Care Networks (PCN’s) vaccination programme across Berkshire West would be live by the middle of January

·       Newbury Racecourse would be a major vaccination site, primarily giving doses to those aged 80 and over

·       PCN’s were all due to be delivered the Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine in the w/c 4 January

·       PCN’s would travel to a number of care homes to vaccinate residents and staff

·       She noted that there was a focus to vaccinate staff within GP surgeries

Councillor Masters asked if those who were socially isolated and over 80 would be visited for their vaccine. He also asked if there was a plan to vaccinate teachers.

Debbie Simmons noted that this would be the case and would be delivered through GP’s and district nurses. On teachers, she noted that this may be the case in time, but at the moment this was unclear.

Councillor Bridgman asked if PCN’s had sufficient clinical fridge space for the AstraZeneca vaccine. He also asked if the centralised sites such as hospitals and the Racecourse were primarily for the Pfizer vaccine or whether both would be used at this site.

Debbie Simmons noted that the initial cohort to each PCN of 400 vaccines of the AstraZeneca was to use this in care homes and house-bound patients. She noted that she had not heard any issues with fridge space from PCN’s. On the Racecourse, she noted that for the foreseeable future, GP’s would largely have AstraZeneca vaccine and centralised hubs would hold most of the Pfizer vaccine.

Councillor Doherty asked for clarification on how residents would hear about a vaccine appointment. She also asked if there were any indications of when those under 75 would receive a vaccine.

Debbie Simmons noted that residents would be contacted via phone or text and their GP surgery would contact them as soon as possible. She noted that there was no concrete timescale for when those aged under 75 would start to receive the vaccine.

Councillor Vickers asked if there was any flexibility in the prioritisation categories and whether key workers such as teachers or shop assistants may be moved up.

Debbie Simmons noted that the national guidance, following the clinical advisors, was to vaccinate those who were most likely to die of Covid-19.

Matt Pearce further stated that it was important to note that as of yet, it was unclear whether the vaccine slowed transmission rates, but more that it protected those who had it from serious illness.