Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Covid-19 Vaccination Sites

Tuesday 18 January 2022 · 5 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 3 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • There are now more than 3,000 sites delivering vaccines and boosters, including hundreds of walk-in sites.
  • 99% of the population in England live within 10 miles of a covid-19 vaccination site.
  • A new roving vaccination van will visit Bolsover and surrounding villages, providing extra capacity for booster jabs.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Mark Fletcher
NHS
Context

The MP inquired about the steps being taken to provide additional covid-19 vaccination sites.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to provide additional covid-19 vaccination sites?

Answer from Maggie Throup

There are now more than 3,000 sites delivering vaccines and boosters, including hundreds of walk-in sites. Opening times have been extended to seven days a week. GPs and community pharmacies have been asked to do more vaccinations, and 750 armed forces personnel and 41 military planners have been brought in to every region to help co-ordinate the national effort.

Answered
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Q2 Sheryll Murray Con
NHS Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The MP inquired about the government's ambitions for getting vaccinations out to smaller rural communities.

Question

In rural areas such as mine in South East Cornwall, it can mean travelling miles to get to the nearest available centre. What ambitions do the Government have to get vaccinations out to the smaller communities to assist those who have yet to be vaccinated to get their jab?

Answer from Maggie Throup

99% of the population in England live within 10 miles of a covid-19 vaccination site. In Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, 85% of those eligible have received their booster or third dose. Targeted programmes are in place to support the homeless, Traveller and migrant workers communities and fishermen. A further 16 pop-up sessions are organised throughout January.

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Q3 Mark Fletcher
NHS
Context

Residents of Bolsover have asked for a specific vaccination centre in their town.

Question

A number of residents in Bolsover have written to me to ask why there is not a specific vaccination centre in the town. Given that the booster roll-out has slowed locally and given our poor bus connections, could the Minister—as my former Whip, I know that she is incredibly persuasive—look into having a specific site in Bolsover?

Answer from Maggie Throup

There are now six vaccination sites in the Bolsover district. A regular pop-up clinic was also set up in Shirebrook to address and identify the shortfall in uptake. A new roving vaccination van will visit Bolsover and surrounding villages, providing extra capacity for booster jabs.

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Q4 Tim Farron Lib Dem Westmorland and Lonsdale
NHS
Context

The MP inquired about the government's plan for NHS staff who have not been vaccinated.

Question

Undoubtedly, additional vaccine sites in rural communities will increase vaccine uptake, which is vital. However, does the Minister agree that, for NHS staff, counselling and one-to-one conversations are right and far more effective than the Government's current plan potentially to sack the 5% of hospital staff in the Morecambe Bay region and indeed across the country who have not been vaccinated? That would cause a serious capacity problem in the NHS.

Answer from Maggie Throup

We are talking about patient safety. Colleagues across the board in the NHS are having dialogue with staff. More than 94% of NHS staff have already had their vaccine. As the chief medical officer Chris Whitty rightly said, those looking after other people who are very vulnerable have a “professional responsibility” to get vaccinated.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific plan for sacking unvaccinated NHS staff was not addressed.

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Q5 Catherine West Lab Hornsey and Friern Barnet
NHS
Context

The MP inquired about a general health strategy to provide access to operating theatres for clinically very vulnerable people.

Question

Access to vaccinations in remote areas is incredibly important, but so is a general health strategy for clinically very vulnerable people. Young Lara in my constituency had the organ that she desperately needed for a double organ transplant, but unfortunately there was no bed in intensive care for her to have the operation. What strategy is the Department taking in general for our clinically vulnerable to provide access to operating theatres so that there is a focus not just on vaccination but on the multiple health conditions that so many of them suffer across the board?

Answer from Maggie Throup

Procedures for urgent cases have not been cancelled. We are looking at the private sector to help deliver vital support for those patients.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific strategy or timeline for providing access to operating theatres was not provided.

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