Coronavirus Vaccination in Devon - Briefing #39 - 1 October 2021 Key message

Coronavirus Vaccination in Devon
Briefing #39 – 1 October 2021
Key message
  •   Frontline Health and Social Care workers can now book a booster
      appointment via the National Booking Service or by contacting 119,
      provided that 6 months have passed since the date of their second
      vaccination. Details of walk-in clinics are available later in this bulletin.
  •   The Shingrix shingles vaccine, which has sometimes been
      opportunistically offered alongside flu, cannot be co-administered with
      COVID-19.
  •   Vaccinations have begun in schools for 12–15-year-olds. Parents,
      guardians or carers of children in this group are being contacted for
      consent.
  •   Support is available for NHS staff experiencing Long Covid
  •   6 in 10 18–24-year-olds are fully vaccinated.
  •   Between 8 December and 26 September 933,727 first doses have been
      given while 867,880 second doses have been given; a total of 1,801,607
      doses.
  •   Details of walk-in clinics are being regularly shared on NHS Devon CCG’s
      social media pages. You can find your nearest walk-in clinic on NHS
      England’s site finder here.

Booster Vaccinations for Health and Care Staff
  •   Frontline health and social care workers (HSCW) can now book their
      booster vaccinations through the National Booking Service.
  •   These staff can only be vaccinated when official proof of this status is
      presented.
  •   Forms of identification that are accepted are either a workplace photo ID,
      a letter from their employer from the past three months, or a payslip from
      the past three months which shows their employer.
  •   HSCW are required to show this ID when they arrive for their appointment,
      and their status as a HCW or SCW should be recorded in the Point of
      Care system.
  •   The Green Book and protocol for the administration of Pfizer vaccine
      outlines that health and social care workers aged 16 -17 should receive
      the two dose primary course of the Pfizer vaccine. Frontline health and
      social care workers aged 16 and over who have direct contact with
      patients, clients or service users are eligible to receive a third dose
      booster vaccination as a HSCW.

UKHSA recommendations on IPC measures
  •   A letter has been published detailing updated guidance in infection
      prevention and control (IPC) measures.
  •   It is hoped that these recommendations will help to ease some of the
      pressure created by the pandemic and enhanced IPC measures on NHS
      capacity over the next few months.
  •   The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), formerly Public Health
      England, has recommended three pragmatic changes that hospitals can
      make, with a focus on elective care as more of the population is

vaccinated against COVID-19 and we understand more about how the
      infection transmits and can be contained.
  •   These initial recommendations include:
       o a reduction of physical distancing from two metres to one metre with
           appropriate mitigations where patient access can be controlled.
       o removing the need for a negative PCR and three days self-isolation
           before selected elective procedures as currently advised by the
           National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
       o re-adopting standard rather than enhanced cleaning procedures.
  •   Full details are available here.

Support for staff with Long COVID
  •   The NHS has a range of support and services for our staff with Long
      Covid (5-12 weeks after onset) or Post-Covid-19 syndrome (12 weeks or
      more after onset) which include the following:
  •   Online rehab services
  •   Apps and helplines for all NHS staff
  •   Devon Wellbeing Hub
  •   NHS managers can access training to support wellbeing conversations.
  •   If you have Long COVID and your symptoms are having a big impact on
      your life, please let your manager know. You may need to be referred to a
      Post-COVID Assessment Clinic to help you manage your symptoms and
      recover.

New Regulations on Care Home Double Vaccination Entry
Requirements
  •   New government regulations come into force on 11/11/2021, requiring
      care home staff to refuse entry to anyone who cannot provide evidence
      that they have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, or that are
      medically exempt. The regulation applies to all CQC regulated care homes
      in England. Ambulance clinicians and first responders are however
      exempt from these requirements.
  •   Members of the health service deployed for emergency response, which
      for the NHS, means staff deployed as part of an emergency ambulance
      response, including community first responders.
  •   The exemption can be viewed online.

Vaccination of all 12–15-year-olds
  •   Vaccinations for 12–15-year-olds have begun in schools in Devon.
  •   They will be offered a first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
  •   Alternative provision is being put in place for those who are home
      schooled or not attending for other reasons.
  •   Parents, guardians or carers are being asked for consent through the
      digital consent system.

•   The School Age Immunisation service is run by Virgin Care who will
      manage any queries regarding and can be contacted on 0300 247 0082 or
      VCL.immunisations@nhs.net
  •   Parents of clinically extremely vulnerable children will continue to be
      contacted by paediatricians and directed to call 01752 398836 or email
      d-ccg.devonvaccinationsupport@nhs.net to make the vaccination
      appointment.

Booster vaccinations
  • Booster vaccinations are being rolled out to care home residents, health
    and social care workers, people aged over 50, those aged 16 to 49 years
    with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe
    Covid-19, adult carers, and adult household contacts of
    immunosuppressed individuals.
  • Eligible people are being offered a booster dose at least 182 days and no
     later than 238 days after the last dose.
  • Once people have received an invitation, they can book using the
     National Booking Service.
  • Vaccine teams are visiting care homes and offering both staff and
     residents the vaccine at the same time
  • The JCVI has also advised that the flu and Covid-19 vaccines can be
    administered at the same time (co-administered) where there is an
    opportunity to do so.
  • The Shingrix shingles vaccine, which has sometimes been
    opportunistically offered alongside flu, cannot be co-administered with
    COVID-19. Before a site vaccinates for COVID-19 it should check
    whether the individual has received their shingles vaccine in the
    previous week and reinvite or rebook them as appropriate, as per PHE’s
    Green Book

Managing challenging behaviour at vaccination sites
  •   We know our staff and volunteers at vaccination sites are continuing to
      encounter challenging behaviour.
  •   Staff and volunteers may find the free ACT security e-learning course
      helpful.
  •   Anyone needing additional support after experiencing abuse or
      harassment can contact the Devon Wellbeing Hub.

Vaccination data for Devon
        •   933,727 people in Devon received a first vaccine dose between 8
            December and 26 September, vaccination data published by NHS
            England and NHS Improvement shows. NHS figures are using updated
            (2020) ONS population statistics, which means some percentages
            have changed from earlier weeks:

                                              Approx % of age     Approx % of age
              Number of 1st   Number of 2nd
Age group                                     group received at   group received
              doses given     doses given
                                              least one dose*     both doses
80+              76,097           74,652
75-79            58,316           57,874
70-74            77,439           76,759            95%                 90%
                                                or above for        or above for
65-69            72,143           71,243
                                               people aged 50      people aged 50
60-64            79,228           76,739          and over            and over
55-59            85,816           83,787
50-54            81,042           79,027
45-49            66,753           64,243            93.1%              89.6%
40-44            59,744           56,684            95.2%              90.3%
35-39            60,361           55,667            91.4%              84.3%
30-34            60,119           53,340            88.4%              78.4%
25-29            55,202           46,822            81.5%              69.1%
18-24            81,477           66,567            81.2%              66.3%

All under
                  19,989             4,476               8.8%                  2.0%
18
Total
                 933,727           867,880               92.7%                86.2%
(% 16+)

    Other important information
        •   The walk-in coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination site finder has been
            revised to enable people to search by postcode for vaccination sites
            offering walk-in vaccinations for those aged 16 years to 17 years 8 months
            to support first dose vaccination for that group.
        •   People who need support to have their Covid-19 vaccination can access
            help through the Devon Vaccine Support Team at
            d-ccg.devonvaccinationsupport@nhs.net / 01752 398836

    Further information
    For more information on vaccination and the health and care response to
    COVID-19, click on www.togetherfordevon.uk/priorities/coronavirus-covid-19 or
    the NHS website.

    ENDS