Winter vaccinations – the final push
To date, over 130,000 residents across North-East London have received the COVID 19 vaccination as part of the Autumn/Winter 2024 campaign. This is a huge achievement, reducing both the risk of serious illness to many residents and the pressures on our hospitals during this incredibly difficult time. Thank you for all the work you have done to achieve this.
However, this does still mean that only just over 20% of all eligible people have taken up the offer to be vaccinated, which is a position we collectively need to improve.
How can people still get vaccinated
The national booking system closes on 20 December, but people can still get vaccinated until 31 January 2025. Please encourage people to:
- Attend one of the walk-in sites
- Attend one of the outreach events
- Call 119, who will assist
Opportunities for improvement
With the help and support of practice staff professionals across NEL, there is still an opportunity to improve vaccination uptake, particularly amongst care home residents, house bound patients and all cohorts that are clinically vulnerable/immunosuppressed (aged 6 months and above).
Suggested Actions:
- Ensure your eligible population have received a local invite and/ or are aware of how to access a vaccination throughout January 2025
- Use the searches available through the GP dashboard to effectively identify all eligible patients, specifically for children and immunosuppressed groups – if you need support please contact your CEG facilitator.
- Ensure your patient lists are accurate and that vaccine event outcomes are recorded, for both a completed vaccine or when a patient has declined
- Consider a second vaccine offer to care home residents who were not able to accept the first offer
- Use the range of materials available to promote vaccine uptake available: