Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 03 December 2020
I, too, am absolutely delighted with the progress that was made over lunch time that will allow us to take the vaccine to care homes. That is one of the most critical issues, and it was one of the most challenging things about the Pfizer vaccine. Our senior officials, along with the MHRA and Pfizer, deserve our congratulations and thanks for getting us to this place.
On care homes, one reason why I made a point of pulling out the changes that have appeared since I last spoke in the chamber about the vaccine programme was to highlight the clear advice that we need to hold 50 per cent of the supplies of the vaccine that we receive in December so that the people who are vaccinated in December can get their second vaccination in January. That is not quite what we expected, and it means that, for example, in the first of the batches that have passed testing, we expect 65,500 doses but, instead of vaccinating 65,500 people, we will vaccinate half that number and hold the other half of the doses so that we can do them again within the time period allowed.
We expect more supplies to arrive during December and, as those are confirmed and we are clearer about that, that will let us know how many people we can vaccinate in December and then be ready to redo in January. That has an implication for whether we can vaccinate all the residents in all our care homes.
Therefore, I have asked our clinical advisers—who will also have a connection directly to the JCVI—how, if we have to, we should prioritise our care homes, given that, although we will get through them all, we will not necessarily do so in the month of December. As soon as I have that information, I will be sure to let members know. I hope that, as I get that information, I will also get confirmation of the delivery dates of other supplies, which might ease that pressure.
We are giving active consideration to putting a helpline in place. There will be a national phone line, which, in the first phase, will be able to provide information. In the second phase, it will also be able to book people in for appointments in their local area. In the first phase, the line will provide information and will then put people through to local call handlers, who will be able to offer information on their specific local area. In the second phase, when the rest of the adult population will be dealt with, it will also be able to book appointments for people.
That will be in place from the start of next year. In addition to everything else, in January there will be a national household door drop that will provide information on the vaccine, its safety, what we expect it to do, when people can expect to be seen and the local plans in their area.