Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Groups (LLR CCGs) which provided an update on the progress of the Covid-19 vaccination programme in LLR. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 9’, is filed with these minutes.

The Committee welcomed to the meeting for this item Andy Williams, Chief Executive, LLR CCGs, and Caroline Trevithick, Executive Director of Nursing, Quality and Performance, West Leicestershire CCG.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted.

(i)          The vaccine programme was progressing rapidly and currently people in cohort 7 (aged 60-65) were being vaccinated. Whilst overall the programme was going well certain areas of LLR had seen significantly lower take-up of the Covid-19 vaccine than the rest of LLR. In Leicester City these areas were St Matthews, Spinney Hill, Northfield, Crown Hills and St Saviours, in the County they were North West Leicestershire, Charnwood and Thorpe Astley, and in Rutland they were Market Overton, Cottesmore, and Empingham. Investigations were taking place to try and understand the reasons for the lack of take-up in those areas but at the moment it was not clear. Staff from the Public Health department at Leicestershire County Council were assisting with the investigation. Engagement would take place with the local members for those areas when the investigation was complete. 

(ii)         GP Practice patient lists were used to make the decisions on who to prioritise for vaccination. If a patient was registered with a GP Practice in a different County to that which they resided then they would be called for vaccination in line with the GP Practice they were registered with. However, patients could book their appointment online irrespective of where they were registered with a GP and the national booking system offered patients vaccine appointments within 45 minutes travel of their home post code therefore it was possible for patients to be vaccinated out of the County they resided in.

(iii)       In response to concerns that the vaccination centres in Loughborough and Lutterworth had been closed over the previous week it was explained that they had not been in operation because of a reduction in the supply of vaccines from the manufacturers however supply from the manufacturers was expected to increase again in the coming weeks. Reassurance was given that the planning assumptions indicated that there would be enough vaccine to administer all the required first and second doses. As the planning assumptions had been correct so far it was expected they would be correct again.

(iv)       In response to concerns from members that the media were reporting people with asthma were not being made a priority to receive the vaccine it was clarified that people with unstable asthma were being made a priority to receive the vaccine whereas people with stable asthma were not. This was because the evidence base indicated that people with stable asthma were not adversely affected by Covid-19.

(v)        The advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation was that the main risk factor for Covid-19 was age which was why teachers and the fire brigade had not been prioritised to receive a vaccine so far.

(vi)       Adult carers would be vaccinated in cohorts 5 and 6.  Members pointed out that there were many family members carrying out caring duties even though they were not formally registered as carers. The CCG stated that these people were advised to register as carers as soon as possible so that they could be vaccinated.

(vii)      With regards to fictitious messages regarding Covid-19 which were being disseminated on social media a member suggested that community forums could be used to publicise more positive messages about the vaccine and the CCGs agreed to give this consideration.

(viii)    There was a target for 100% of NHS staff in LLR to receive the Covid vaccine and so far 80% had been vaccinated. Some staff were hesitant about receiving the vaccine and the main reason given was a fear that it could impact on their fertility. One to one meetings were being held with these staff members to allay their concerns. Focus groups were also taking place. The NHS held data regarding which staff had received the vaccine and the data was able to be broken down into different groups.

(ix)       A booster programme for Covid-19 was currently being devised but the details of the programme were not yet known.

RESOLVED:

(a)        That the update on the Covid-19 vaccination programme be noted and the progress made so far be welcomed;

(b)        That LLR CCGs be requested to provide a further update to the Committee regarding the areas of Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland where vaccination uptake had been comparatively low and the reasons behind this when the information was available.