FAQs - Operational plans - South East London CCG

This FAQ section contains our questions related to COVID-19 Vaccine – Operational plans.

To navigate to a different section of the FAQs, or go back to the main page, click on any of the links below:

Back to main COVID-19 Vaccination webpage
FAQ section on Vaccine safety and components
FAQ section on Vaccine efficacy/effectiveness
FAQ section on Fertility, pregnancy and breastfeeding
FAQ section on Practical queries around getting the vaccine
FAQ section on Vaccine coverage and eligibility

Capacity and supply

Who is getting vaccinated now?

If you are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, you can book your vaccine online at www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination or by speaking to your GP surgery. We are also running pop-up clinics across south-east London – more information here.

See guidance on frontline health or social care workers, and the high and moderate risk categories here.

Figures on the number of people vaccinated are published weekly and can be found at coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/vaccinations

Does the NHS have the capacity and supplies available if lots of people now book without letters?

What is being done with any extra doses of vaccine – e.g. form those who don’t turn up to appointments?

Vaccination services are under strict instructions to keep the number of wasted doses to an absolute minimum. Any spare vaccines due to missed or unfilled appointments should be used wherever possible.

This is primarily done through each service operating a reserve list of eligible people – including health and social care workers, but also members of the public in the JCVI priority groups currently being vaccinated – who can be called at short notice to receive a dose where otherwise it might be wasted.

Co-ordination of rollout

As multiple services are inviting people how are you tracking if someone has accepted an invite?

All services are updating data constantly with patients who have been vaccinated. Information is uploaded onto systems which are then linked to the patients’ records

How do you decide where vaccination sites will be based?

Clinical and operational teams look at a multitude of factors to open up non-clinical vaccination sites, including safety, infection control issues, staffing, capacity, social distancing, etc, and have to comply with NHSE’s very strict requirements.

How will GPs be told who to vaccinate? 

The JCVI have set criteria, which they will continue to review on an ongoing basis, for who should get the vaccine and when. GPs will be able to call in or go out to patients based on this, using your patient records. A national invitation and recall system, drawn from GP patient records, may also be used.

Equality of access

How do you ensure patients with Alzheimer’s / dementia receive the vaccination?

All patients in care facilities, over the age of 70 or registered as clinically extremely vulnerable were offered the vaccine before mid-February. Those who require consent support will be contacted via their carer or family members.

What are you doing to ensure good uptake among ‘hard-to-reach’ communities and in black, Asian, minority ethnic and other disproportionately affected communities/groups?

We understand that some communities have specific concerns and may be more hesitant in taking the vaccine than others. The NHS is working collaboratively with partners to ensure vaccine messages reach as diverse an audience as possible and are tailored to meet their needs.
This includes engagement with community and faith-led groups, charities and other voluntary organisations.

Is there inequality amongst the vaccination rates in SEL boroughs?

Boroughs have vaccinated majority of over 70s. All older peoples care homes have now been vaccinated.