Staff and all residents who can give informed consent are required to do so if they want to receive the vaccine.

There is no legal requirement for consent to be in writing. A signature on a consent form is not conclusive proof that consent has been given but records the decision and the discussions that have taken place.

Consent should be recorded – this is a required field on the Pinnacle system used by staff giving the vaccine.

Staff and residents should be provided with written information about the vaccine. Some people might not remember the information between the first and second dose.

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.

You can find out more about how to assess residents’ capacity to decide whether to have a vaccination here.