Agenda item

5.1

Charlie Wilson attended on behalf of Medat Sheffield and asked the following question:

‘Medact Sheffield is asking for Sheffield City Council to become a signatory of the Vaccine for All campaign, which seeks to ensure access to coronavirus vaccines for everyone, with particular regard to those with insecure immigration status; no proof of address of ID; or those not registered with GP surgeries.

Other signatories include Sheffield's Director of Public Health, Greg Fell, and over 350 NGOs, Royal Colleges, Unions and other UK councils including Bristol City, Oxford City and Newcastle City among others. The council can become a signatory via the website (www.vaccineforall.co.uk) or by letting us know directly at sheffield@medact.org

We also ask, in addition to becoming a signatory, that the council:

• Offer a public statement of support for the campaign
• Review data collection and sharing arrangements at COVID-19 testing and vaccine centres, which can make people fearful to come forward, due to the on-going practice of healthcare information being used by the Home Office to target individuals
• Review the implementation of ID checks at COVID-19 testing and vaccine centres, which contributes to the issue above and, in of itself, forms a significant barrier to access
• Share good practice resources with local stakeholders about how to ensure everyone can access the vaccine without fear, including the Doctors of the World briefing and the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) Vaccine Inequality Toolkit and Best Practice Guide’

Councillor Julie Grocutt thanked Mr Wilson for his question and for attending. She said that the vaccination process had been a massive undertaking and NHS colleagues had done a great job at this mammoth task. Councillor Grocutt added that Sheffield City Council had engaged with partners to support the programme throughout the vaccination process, and had assisted with the logistics of attending vaccination appointments including through providing stewards at vaccination centres and gritters during the winter. Councillor Grocutt stated that Sheffield City Council was pleased to add its support to the Vaccines for All Campaign, which she stated emphasised that extra action must be taken to ensure that the vaccine is available to everyone. She stated that Sheffield City Council had added their signature to the website. She added that they were aware that those not registered with a GP would not be invited to a vaccination through text message, but they could attend appointments and receive their vaccination through pop-up clinics. Councillor Grocutt stated that Sheffield City Council recognised that their usual communication methods might not be the most effective to inform people that they could still be vaccinated, and added that they had worked with clinical commissioning groups to consider how best to get the message out. Councillor Grocutt said that Sheffield City Council would also work with the NHS to publicise the pop-up clinics to the appropriate community groups and organisations for as long as needed.