Autumn vaccine booster campaign welcome but delivery model not sustainable
28 April 2021
- At today's Downing Street press conference health and social care secretary Matt Hancock was joined by Professor Jonathan Van Tam and Dr Nikki Kanani.
- Hancock said the UK has secured an additional 60 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for booster jabs.
- He added that uptake of the vaccine in the over 50s age group is over 95%.
Responding to the announcement of 60 million extra doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine secured to support an autumn booster programme, the chief executive of NHS Providers, Chris Hopson, said:
"It is good to see preparations for an autumn booster campaign taking shape.
"This will build on the extraordinary success of the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination programme.
"Trusts have been at the forefront of this huge effort, and while we welcome additional steps to protect the most vulnerable people, it is important to remember the hard work and expertise of all those involved in planning and delivering these vaccines.
"This has been and will remain a major commitment for the NHS alongside the many other challenges it now faces in dealing with the longer term impact of COVID-19.
"It does reinforce, though, the need for the NHS to create the right workforce model to deliver COVID-19 vaccines long term. What's been achieved so far has depended on diverting large numbers of NHS staff from their day jobs, which is not sustainable."