Agenda item

To receive an update relating to local Covid vaccinations.

The Committee was provided with an update on the Oldham Covid Vaccination Programme, a presentation being received which considered -

·         the number of vaccinations delivered to the Oldham registered population within each of the priority Cohorts identified by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI);

·         the progress made in each of the Oldham Primary Care Network areas in respect of JCVI Cohorts 1-6;

·         vaccinations delivered by ethnicity across the Oldham registered population;

·         vaccination uptake by Ward across the Borough generally, and by JCVI Cohorts 1-6 specifically;

·         vaccine uptake across ethnicity and the Index of Multiple Deprivation;

·         vaccination of the Oldham population by site/location of vaccination centre;

·         comparison with other Greater Manchester CCG vaccination programmes; and

·         staffing vaccinations rates across health and care sectors in Oldham.

The Committee was advised that over 90,000 people had been vaccinated since 14^th December 2020, the majority being first doses but with the number of second doses now increasing.  The vaccination programme had followed the government priority of protecting life and so had worked through the nationally identified priority Cohorts in order.  There had been a very high take up among the Cohort 1-4 group and Oldham stood well in benchmarked performance.  Responding to issues highlighted by the vaccination by ethnicity data, a number of pop-up clinics had been held which had delivered good results in certain hard to reach areas.  The consideration of ethnicity and deprivation demonstrated the need for work with the voluntary sector, a need to understand the needs of communities, and the need to develop solutions to deliver vaccinations in tailored ways.

A Member considered that the good attendance at local clinics was a sign that accessibility and communications were key issues to get engagement with the vaccination programme.  The Committee was advised that government requirements for vaccination centres had been intensive but that local work had been undertaken to find a way to deliver local provision, the effectiveness of which was being demonstrated by the data.  The need to consider women only events and targeted communications was suggested and would be further considered, the issue also highlighting the need to give a broader consideration as to who might be regarded as a potential target group.

A Member noted that they had observed attendance at a vaccination clinic where those attending had appeared younger than might have been expected and requested a breakdown of the ethnicity vaccination data by age.  In response the Committee was advised that there was confidence that the right groups were being identified.  However, local GPs had no sight of the national vaccination programme meaning that at times some people may have two appointments which could result in other Cohorts being invited to local clinics to avoid wastage.  If calls for vaccination were not responded to, it was confirmed that these cases were followed up.

Comment was made as to issues with the receipt and follow up of invites received from GPs, of the national programme not providing local venues, and of GPs not being able to offer a local alternate option when a national programme appointment had been given.  The need to target the areas with the lowest take-up was stressed as this should, it was suggested, reduce the overall infection rate.  While the results from recent weeks were positive, it was further suggested that problems with take-up related more to levels of deprivation than ethnicity, with the more deprived areas being more likely to be at risk and less likely to accept the vaccine offer. The need to consider other approaches, for example, through targeting particular employment sectors or different groups, for example, as the target age groups became younger, was considered.  The comments were acknowledged, with the circumstances early in the vaccination programme such that only 48 hours notice of vaccine supply was provided meaning that contacts by text had been necessary being reported.

A number of suggestions were made in discussion as to potential venues for vaccination clinic to pick up various communities and age groups.   The Committee was advised that a weekly meeting was held with GPs who held responsibility for the vaccination programme and any venue suggestions made would be fed into this process. 

RESOLVED that the report be noted.