Agenda item

The Board considered a presentation from Jo Reeves (Agenda Item 5) relating to the Vaccination Programme. Key points from the presentation were as follows:

·         There was good appointment and walk-in availability for booster doses.

·         16-17 year olds were being invited to have a booster 12 weeks after their second dose.

·         Boosters / fourth doses were being booked for immunosuppressed patients.

·         12-15 year olds were eligible for a second dose 12 weeks after their first. They also had to wait 12 weeks after a positive Covid test. They could either book an appointment via the national booking system or wait for a visit by the School Aged Immunisation Team to their school.

·         A key focus was improving rates of booster take-up in groups that experienced health inequalities in addition to promotion of primary course of vaccination to those with no / one dose.

·         Within West Berkshire 86.5% of residents had received a booster, which compared favourably to the England average of 63.2%.

·         In relation to inequalities:

o   There was a system-wide, targeted Outreach and Engagement Plan running to the end of March, which aimed to mitigate inequalities and ensure that under-served populations had access to the vaccine.

o   Additional funding had been allocated to communications and expenses associated with the Health on the Move Van.

o   In West Berkshire, there was a focus on engagement with social care workers, patients with serious mental illness, carers and areas of deprivation.

·         Health and care employers would not be allowed to deploy anyone who hadn’t had at least two doses in a patient-facing, CQC-regulated role unless they were exempt from 1 April.

·         Staff would need to have their first vaccine by 3 February in order to have received their second dose by 1 April.

·         Take-up by health and care staff was in the high 90s%.

·         Health providers were having one-to-one conversations with relevant staff and the CCG was offering support.

·         The CCG was undertaking an audit of the vaccination status of its own staff, since they were likely to visit health settings.

·         The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) had recommended:

o   Boosters for 12-15 year olds in a clinical risk group or who were a household contact of someone who was immunosuppressed / severely immunosuppressed and who had a third primary dose.

o   First doses for 5-11 year olds, prioritising those who were clinically extremely vulnerable.

·         Government had accepted the recommendations and operational guidance was awaited.

·         It was noted that there was a logistical challenge in getting the correct doses.

The Chairman noted that within the Royal Berkshire Hospital, 97% of all staff had received two doses of the vaccine.

Councillor Steve Masters acknowledged the efforts of the vaccination teams. He asked if any local centres had been affected by the planned day of action by anti-vaccination protesters.

Jo Reeves confirmed that there had been some protesters at the Kennet Centre, but the Centre’s Security Team were on hand to support the clinical staff, and the event had passed off peacefully.

Councillor Martha Vickers indicated that she had an 11 year old grandson who was at secondary school where the majority of pupils were eligible to be vaccinated.  She asked why the threshold was those age 12 rather than 11.

Jo Reeves did not know the reasons for the age limit. The Chairman asked if Matt Pearce could investigate further.