Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2021 to Question 128169, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that (a) GPs and (b) others administering the covid-19 vaccination programme at the local level are aware that (I) people with an eating disorder may be defined as experiencing severe mental illness and (ii) carers of someone with an eating disorder may meet the definition of an adult carer specified by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and therefore also require prioritisation for COVID-19 vaccination.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has determined that those with severe mental illnesses (SMI) are within cohort 6 for the vaccine rollout, and we are encouraging General Practitioners (GPs) to take a similar approach for this group of people to that being proposed for people with learning disabilities, working in partnership with secondary care mental health services and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise partners to ensure appropriate outreach mechanisms are in place.

People with SMI (including people who are severely unwell with an eating disorder, who have a high or low body mass index) and their carers should receive an invitation from their GP to get their COVID-19 vaccine. This might be by letter, text message or phone, or a combination of all three. If someone is unsure if they have an SMI which falls within the official definition above, they are encouraged to contact their GP, or mental health team. GP teams are encouraged to keep prioritising people with severe mental illness, applying a flexible approach to defining SMI.