Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether all staff employed in care homes, including cooks and cleaners will receive the covid-19 vaccination at the same time as nurses and care assistants.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine/s the United Kingdom should use, including prioritisation at a population level. The JCVI has advised that the first priorities for any COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of COVID-19 mortality and the protection of health and social care staff and systems.

Therefore, in line with the recommendations of the JCVI, the vaccine will be initially rolled out to the priority groups including care home residents and staff, people over 80 years old and health and care workers, followed by the rest of the population. As set out in the green book, this includes staff involved in direct care, as well as non-clinical ancillary staff in secondary or primary care/community healthcare settings.