Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of retired medical professionals over 60 who could assist in the roll out of vaccinations for covid-19.

NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Bring Back Staff programme keep actively engaged with 12,749 retired former healthcare professionals, who have expressed an interest in returning to the National Health Service in some capacity over the winter. Of the 12,749, 2,697 are aged 60 years old or above. NHS England and NHS Improvement’s regional teams are contacting these former professionals to seek their support over the winter with a particular focus on the COVID-19 vaccine programme.