‘Support the NHS to ensure vaccination success’

By Jon Ashworth

THE pictures last week of 90-year-old Margaret Keenan, the first person in Britain to receive the Covid vaccine from May Parsons, a nurse who came to work in our NHS from the Philip­pines (pictured together, right), left me beaming with pride.

It was a welcome mo­ment of hope in what has been a dismal year when many loved ones have been lost. Weddings and funerals have been missed. Grandparents have been unable to hug their grandchildren. Social distancing ha curtailed our celebra­tions, from Vaisakhi and Eid to Diwali.

But we know now that there is light at the end of the Covid tunnel. The extraordinary work of scientists in getting us this far is definitely a cause for celebration.

But before we can get back to normal, the NHS has the mammoth task of vaccinating millions and millions of people against coronavirus.

For the vaccination programme to be suc­cessful, we need com­plete transparency from the government on when and how people will be getting vaccinat­ed. That’s why we’ve been urging ministers to publish a practical plan for how the vac­cine is going to be rolled out swiftly, smoothly, and safely.

The complexity of this task can’t be over­stated, but we’re starting from a strong position. Millions of people get vaccinated every year in this country, and the doctors and nurses in our GP surgeries and community pharmacy are the experts in deliv­ering essential vaccines to their patients. Every year the NHS vaccinates over 14 million people against flu, with the bulk of the jabs given by GPs. That’s why we strongly welcome the role that GPs are play­ing in the roll out of the Covid vaccine.

I also know from my own experience in Leicester how vital com­munity pharmacy will be to this vaccine roll out. I’m urging govern­ment to properly en­gage and involve our network of local chem­ists who are the heart of communities like the one I represent.

Vaccine hesitancy is a serious public health risk and one that we’ve been worried about since before this terrible pandemic. Rates of MMR vaccination in children have been fall­ing, and last year we shockingly lost our measles-free status.

Having said that, it’s really important that we don’t rubbish the legiti­mate questions people have about this vaccine. What we need is strong public health messaging to answer queries about the vaccine and what it means for people and their loved ones.

Any public health campaign has to take into account the terrible fact that though the pandemic has impacted us all, its burden has not been shared equal­ly. The horrific truth is that the coronavirus thrives on inequalities. Black and Asian groups have been dispropor­tionately impacted by the spread of the virus. More black and Asian people end up in inten­sive care with the more severe symptoms of the disease, and very sadly, people from Asian com­munities have had a higher risk of dying from the virus.

We know that BAME people have been over-exposed to the virus – they are often key work­ers on the frontline of delivering vital public services. They have been stigmatised and often overlooked in this pandemic too. We can­not allow this to contin­ue to happen with the roll out of the vaccine.

Last week’s news is incredibly uplifting. It’s what we all needed at the end of what has to have been one of the most difficult years in living memory.

Over the coming days and weeks, as the vac­cine begins to be rolled out across the country, we need a health ine­quality focus built into the government’s vacci­nation plan, to ensure there is equal access for all who need it. We need a strategy to en­sure no community is left behind.

It’s vital mandirs, gurdwaras and masjids are given information on the vaccine to com­municate to the com­munity and that materi­als are produced in the languages needed, in­cluding, for example, in Gujarati, Punjabi and Urdu. The NHS’ vacci­nation experts – the Joint Committee on Vaccina­tions and immunisation (JCVI) – have published the order in which they expect the vaccine to reach different groups, with the oldest and most vulnerable first.

We understand this approach, and this means we must all do our bit to ensure our older relatives know the vaccine is coming and ensure they get the jab. Let’s get our families prepared, ensure they’re informed, and ready for their appointment. By supporting the NHS in whatever way we can, we will ensure the pro­gramme is a success.

Our tributes and gratitude must go to the scientists who have worked around the clock to get this vaccine to the people who need it most in record time, and our thanks to all the NHS staff now helping to de­liver the vital jabs.