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 22 November 2021 to Question 76833 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, what guidance his Department has been provided to (a) GPs, (b) vaccination centres and (c) 119 call handlers on referring those who have received an eligible overseas vaccination to the National Immunisation Management Service.

To support the new validation service, vaccination centres have been given training, guidance and instructions on the process. General practitioners will receive information about referring eligible individuals to the service when the pilot scheme is transferred to a fully live service.

The service management team at 119 have been briefed on the process. As the pilot to date has been limited to a closed cohort of known cases, currently 119 call handlers are unable to refer individuals to the service. Call handlers will be able to make these referrals once the national service has been launched and callers will be guided to use the national booking service.