Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the evidential basis was for his decision (a) to implement mass covid-19 testing of secondary school pupils in London and the South-East and (b) not to implement that testing in (i) Yorkshire and the Humber and (ii) other regions of England.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The decision to implement testing of secondary school pupils in London and the South East on 10 December was based on public health recommendations informed by a comparative analysis by region of the following factors: case rates in all age groups and, in particular, among over 60 year olds; how quickly case rates were rising or falling; the number of positive cases as a proportion of tests taken; current and projected pressure on the National Health Service; and other circumstances such as local outbreaks. At the time, the case rates in London and the South East were 271 and 217 respectively per 100,000 population, compared with 208 in the region with the next highest case rates.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his guidance is on the covid-19 vaccine for people with a terminal diagnosis.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
For the first phase of the vaccination programme, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, as well as frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors.
Included in this are individuals who are clinically extremely vulnerable and individuals with certain underlying health conditions, including immunosuppression, which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality. Some terminal illnesses, such as specific cancers, are considered to be clinically extremely vulnerable, will be prioritised for a vaccine in cohort four.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will clarify his Department's advice on people with a penicillin allergy receiving the covid-19 vaccine.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
People with a penicillin allergy should be able to receive the currently authorised Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines as the final vaccine products do not contain penicillin. The COVID-19 vaccines should not be given to those who have had a previous systemic allergic reaction, including immediate-onset anaphylaxis, to a previous dose of the same COVID-19 vaccine or to any component of the vaccine. If people have any specific concerns as to whether they can receive the vaccine, they should ask their general practitioner or consultant team.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including prison officers on the priority list for covid-19 vaccination.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level. The JCVI has advised that phase one of the vaccine programme will have the prevention of mortality at the forefront of its objectives, as well as to support the National Health Service and social care system. For the first phase, the JCVI has advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, as well as frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors. Included in this are those with underlying health conditions, which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality.
Prison officers who are eligible for a vaccine, based on the JCVI’s prioritisation, will be offered a vaccine in line with clinical advice. Phase two may include further reduction in hospitalisation and targeted vaccination of those at high risk of exposure and/or those delivering key public services.