Government publishes plan for largest vaccination programme in British History

The UK Government has published a plan for the largest vaccination programme in British history.

• Government sets out UK COVID-19 vaccines delivery plan for vaccinating tens of millions of people by spring
• At least two million vaccinations per week with over 2,700 vaccine sites across the UK
• Over 200,000 offers of non-clinical support from the public and leading UK businesses to help with the logistics of the programme

Tens of millions of people will be immunised by the spring at over 2,700 vaccination sites across the UK, the Government has announced today as part of comprehensive plans to rapidly scale up the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

The UK COVID-19 Vaccines Delivery Plan sets out how the Government will work with the NHS, devolved administrations, local councils and the Armed Forces to deliver the largest vaccination programme in British history.

By the end of January, everyone in England will be within 10 miles of a vaccination site or, for a small number of highly rural areas, the vaccine will be brought to them via mobile teams. There will also be capacity to deliver at least two million vaccinations in England per week by the end of January and all residents and staff in over 10,000 care homes across the country will be offered a vaccine by the end of the month.

This will be made possible by the rapid expansion of the programme, including:

• 206 active hospital sites;
• 50 vaccination centres; and
• around 1,200 local vaccination sites – including primary care networks, community pharmacy sites and mobile teams.

This will mean every at-risk person has easy access to a vaccination centre, regardless of where they live. The expansion of the programme will also mean all adults will be offered a vaccine by the autumn.

The Government and the NHS have also mobilised a workforce of over 80,000 health professionals to help in the delivery of the programme across the different vaccination sites, with over 200,000 additional members of the public expressing their interest in helping with the non-clinical elements of the rollout – such as administrative support, logistics, stewards and first aiders. All offers of support have been recorded and individuals will be contacted when they’re needed.

The plan is split into four main areas:

• Supply – including the development and manufacturing of vaccines, ensuring their safety and effectiveness;
• Prioritisation – insight into the first two phases of deployment;
• Places – ensuring simple, fair and convenient access to vaccinations for the public, regardless of where they live; and
• People – mobilising the workforce and providing information on vaccinations to local communities.

As set out by the Prime Minister last week, the plan also reiterates the commitment to offer the first vaccine dose to all those in the top four priority groups recommended by the Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) by 15 February. With these groups accounting for 88 per cent of COVID-19 fatalities, the move will prevent thousands of deaths once their immunity develops in 14 days.

This would account for almost half of the priority groups in phase one, with all nine high-risk groups for phase one of the programme being vaccinated by spring. Phase two will look at the best tactics for achieving protection for the whole UK population, and may include vaccination of those at high risk of catching Covid-19 or delivering key public services. The JCVI will consider all available evidence for phase two recommendations of the vaccination programme.

The full plan can be found here.