Welcome to this care home vaccination information toolkit. Care homes have been prioritised to receive the vaccine because:
- Residents in care homes have been very badly affected by COVID-19
- Care home staff are at increased personal risk of catching COVID-19, and passing it on to vulnerable people
Vaccines are only approved if they are safe and effective.
You get the currently approved vaccines in two doses.
The vaccine is one tool to help prevent COVID-19, together with all your hard work in infection prevention control, wearing PPE and testing, which we need to keep up!
Some residents might not have capacity to consent to have the vaccine – the same process should be followed as for other interventions such as the flu jab.
Overview
Following extensive trials, three safe and effective vaccines for COVID-19 have been approved in the UK by regulators.
The NHS has made an excellent start to rolling out Covid-19 vaccines. So far more than 5.7 million people in London and over 46 million in England, have received their first doses, and we’re on track to vaccinate the adult population who are willing to receive it.
People are now receiving the vaccine in hundreds of hospital hubs, local vaccination services, pharmacies, and care homes in the biggest ever UK vaccination programme.
The NHS is giving priority to people that the Joint Committee on Vaccination (JCVI) and government have decided will benefit the most, including care home residents and staff.
