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North West COVID-19 vaccination programme newsletter – Issue 9

Dear colleagues,

We are moving at pace to implement the new targets set for us yesterday by the Prime Minister, so everyone aged 18+ is offered a first dose by 19 July and two-thirds of all adults are fully vaccinated by the same date.

This will be a challenge but with 72.4% of adults in the North West having already had one dose, and 53.2% having had both (ahead of the current national averages of 70.9% and 52.0% respectively), it is one I am confident we are in a good position to deliver.

I am very proud of how everyone working on the COVID-19 vaccination programme for the North West has responded to the urgent need to keep our population safe, not just at the beginning of the programme or for a few weeks, but consistently over more than six months.

The way we have collectively risen to the challenge of the delta variant of coronavirus, which now accounts for about 90% of new cases in England has been and continues to be extraordinary. We accelerated vaccinations significantly during May, proportionately contributing even more than other regions to the busiest month the national vaccination programme has ever had. In Blackburn with Darwen teams gave over 19,000 vaccinations in the latter part of May, increasing uptake for cohorts 1-11 by 7.4% and in Burnley, over 10,000 vaccinations were given in the previous week. This was in addition to the 43,000 vaccinations between 12 and 31 May in Bolton as part of the surge.

And now we are focusing on opening up vaccinations to the rest of cohort 12 (18 to 29-year-olds) in a phased way this week, starting today with 23 and 24-year-olds, increasing uptake across all JCVI cohorts and bringing forward second doses for people aged 40+ so that everyone can get their second dose within eight weeks of the first. We’re making the most of our regional allocation of vaccines and our vaccination sites – both fixed and mobile – to increase the speed of vaccinations for everyone eligible.

On top of this, we are putting in additional measures to support further acceleration in our surge areas – within Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and Cheshire and Merseyside – alongside intensive testing and monitoring, as part of the actions to combat spread of the delta variant. More about this below.

While there is no room for complacency, it looks like we may have started to turn the corner in Bolton – last week’s cases, although still the highest in Greater Manchester, fell for the first time since they started to climb in April.

Now we need to do everything we can to achieve the same turnaround across the region, building on what we learned from Bolton and are already doing to reach those other communities. And, thanks to the phenomenal energy, hard work and dedication of everyone delivering the vaccination programme across the North West, I know we will accomplish our goal.

We have now given more than 7.7 million vaccinations against COVID-19 to our population, with 4.4 million first doses and 3.3 million second doses.

We have also opened up vaccinations to people aged 23 to 29, while uptake continues to increase in older and more vulnerable cohorts.

This, more than ever, has been an exceptionally busy time and I would like to thank everyone in the NHS and our partners who are helping to deliver vaccinations to protect the people of the North West. We’re starting an occasional slot for vaccine heroes – see below to find out who our vaccine hero is in this edition.

Do share your thoughts on this newsletter and let us know what else you would like it to contain. If you are a frontline health and care worker and not already a member of the North West Community of Practice, please see details at the end for how to join so you can access documents and other resources, and share your tips, challenges and experiences.

Yours
Linda

Dr Linda Charles – Ozuzu
Regional Director of Commissioning and Regional SRO – COVID Vaccination Programme
NHS England and NHS Improvement – North West


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Enhanced response areas

Accelerated vaccination roll out is a key part of our efforts to reduce the spread of the delta variant in the enhanced response areas within Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and Cheshire and Merseyside.

We’re investing significant resources to support local initiatives to maximise vaccine uptake in these areas, including:

  • extending opening hours in our busiest vaccination services so they can open more booking slots and provide more convenient appointments
  • expanding capacity, with new pharmacy-led vaccination sites across the North West, particularly in locations where COVID-19 infection rates are rising fastest
  • pop-up sites in key locations and further vaccination buses that take vaccines directly out into communities, offering a mix of bookable and walk-in options to extend local access
  • adding many more slots at hospital hub sites to the National Booking System to further improve access, for example in Liverpool, Blackpool, Rochdale and Wirral
  • additional resources to support community engagement, reaching into our most at-risk communities.

Then there’s our WOW factor – a bumper Weekend of Walk-ins from the evening of Thursday 17 June to Sunday 20 June – when we are aiming to reach thousands of people who have not yet been vaccinated. People who may not have been able to commit to a fixed booking can just turn up at a time that suits them, starting with a match day drop-in vaccine clinic at St Helens Rugby Stadium ahead of the Saints-Warrington game on Thursday.

To maximise protection, we are also actively moving supplies to the vaccine services where there is the greatest demand so they can offer more appointments. This is enabling community pharmacy sites, for instance, to do more to support people in JCVI cohorts 1-9 who are bringing their second dose forward because they are at higher risk. With the delta variant circulating, it is really important that those in higher risk groups have the protection offered by two doses.

 

Vaccine hero

Our first COVID-19 vaccine hero is Jane Scattergood, director of the vaccination programme for Lancashire and South Cumbria. Jane (pictured) oversaw the delivery of an additional 28,000 first doses of vaccine across Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, and Pendle during the recent surge activity.

As well as maximising vaccinations at existing fixed sites, this was achieved by making use of articulated lorries, mobile vaccine buses and pop-ups in community sites including church halls.

The buses were particularly effective in rural and deprived areas where they catered to significant demand – almost 600 people were vaccinated in the Clitheroe area in Pennine Lancashire in one day. This week, vaccinations are being delivered by a team onboard a small bus at a number of locations in and around Preston and Chorley, including Morrisons, Deepdale.

Well done Jane! Your brilliant work is making a real difference and the North West Covid-19 Vaccination Programme is very grateful to you!

A bit more about Jane:

A registered nurse, midwife, and health visitor, Jane graduated from the NHS Management Training Scheme in 1996. Currently serving as a registrant panel member with the Nursing and Midwifery Council for fitness to practise hearings, Jane has a special interest in maximising the contribution of nursing, nurses as leaders, public health nursing, and professional regulation and discipline. She is an Honorary Member of the Faculty of Public Health and was awarded the title Queen’s Nurse in 2019.

 

Tackling health inequalities

Ensuring no one is left behind continues to be of critical importance as we seek to protect our entire population.

For cohorts 1-10 (people aged 40+ and people at higher risk of COVID-19 for other reasons), uptake for South Asian communities is currently 75%, up from around 47% at the start of March, and uptake for Caribbean and African communities is currently 63%, up from around 40% at the start of March.

One of the things that has made a difference has been people being able to hear from ‘someone like me’ whose views they respect.

Elizabeth Alogba, 26, (pictured) who works for Manchester organisation Caribbean African Health Network initially had questions about the content of the vaccine but was reassured after hearing from senior NHS consultants who answered questions from the Network. It was important to her that the impressive professionals she heard from were themselves Black.

Her mind put at rest, she has recorded a short film to encourage other young people to have the vaccine.

Similarly, Gode Bolefo, 29, a mother of four children who recently passed her Masters degree, has made a film about her reasons for getting vaccinated, with a particular focus on the dilemma faced by young adults, who feel at less personal risk from the virus.

Gode, also known as Flore, (pictured) recently volunteered at a vaccination centre in Manchester where she was able to talk to doctors and vaccinators on the day.

She says everyone wants the same thing, to be well and protect their family, and highlights that every single vaccine gives hope.

“I’m protecting myself, my children, my family and every single person I come into contact with,” she says.

Meanwhile in Manchester, the VaccChat campaign is supporting people working in local businesses to have informed conversations with customers about the COVID-19 vaccine.

Christine Khiroya, immunisations and screening lead at Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “We have created the VaccChat campaign as a way of providing the facts about the Covid-19 vaccination directly to younger people, in a different, more accessible way – via trusted contacts working in frontline professions such as hairdressers and barbers.

“We hope that by providing the facts in a straight-talking and friendly way we can positively influence everyday conversations about the vaccine.”

Patrick Scrivens, 49, a self-employed barber in Oldham, said: “Covid-19 affects us all so everyone has an opinion. But that’s why it’s so important to get accurate and reliable information and talk things through.

“I’ve had both my jabs and so have the other two barbers working at Town Barber Too. I trust the NHS and want to protect myself, my family and my customers.”

 

Making reasonable adjustments

Much of our success in increasing uptake in communities which were initially hesitant about taking the vaccine is due to making reasonable adjustments to services to meet people’s needs.

Research shows that three key elements determine how likely people are to be vaccinated:

  • confidence in the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness
  • convenience – how easy it is for people to access
  • complacency – how concerned people are about their risk of infection or serious illness. Those who are complacent are less likely to take up vaccination.

There are suggestions in our Menu of Reasonable Adjustments (MoRA) to maximise vaccination uptake among under-served communities, including people from an ethnic minority background, people with a learning disability, people with serious mental illness, and inclusion health populations.

It has also recently been updated to include suggestions for reaching young adults, with the opening up of vaccinations to cohort 12. These include:

  • using adverts on channels such as the music streaming service Spotify, targeted radio stations and at shopping centres, gyms, and on community buses
  • ensuring universities have the correct information to give students, and nail bars, trainers and hair salons also have accurate information to share

social media targeted specifically at adults under 30.

 

National webinars

Anyone with an interest in COVID vaccine equalities is invited to join the COVID Vaccine Equalities Connect and Exchange Hub summer webinar series, a programme of events organised to support local areas to narrow the uptake gap with under-served communities. Information and links to join events below.

The webinars are on (with booking links):

People working in local, public, voluntary and NHS organisations can also join The Hub on the Future NHS platform, using this link.

 


Further information

Media coverage

Manchester Evening News wrote about Bolton’s successful surge response.

Useful resources

Regional case study

Other resources

As well as the very wide ranging resources in the Menu of Reasonable Adjustments, a wide range of resources and case studies are available on the North West Community of Practice website.

 

Questions and feedback

If you have any questions or comments on this newsletter, please post them on the North West Community of Practice forum.

The North West Community of Practice is for everyone working in health and care in North West region. If you are working in this field and would like to become a member, please email england.pcn-development@nhs.net to request an invitation.