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COVID-19 vaccination information for care providers

COVID-19 vaccination programme

Following extensive trials, three safe and effective vaccines for COVID-19 are now available. There has been a strict approval process which means that all approved vaccines have met strict safety standards and are our best defence against the virus.

Getting vaccinated means protecting yourself from the virus so you can be there for your family, friends and residents. You cannot catch COVID-19 from the vaccine, and two doses will reduce your chance of becoming seriously ill.

It will take some time for your body to build up protection, so you will still need to follow the guidance in your workplace, and follow general advice at work, at home and when you are out and about.

It is hoped that eventually when enough people have been vaccinated this will change.

If you have any queries about the vaccination programme contact nwccg.covidvaccinationcell@nhs.net

Vaccinations for new staff

As you employ new staff over the coming months, you will need to arrange for them to be vaccinated.  To do this, you will need to complete and upload a COVID-19 vaccination for social care staff and volunteers workbook.

Vaccination locations

You will be informed as to where you are getting your vaccination. This may include:

  • Hospital hubs - NHS providers vaccinating onsite in Norfolk. These are NNUH (Norwich), JPUH (Gorleston) and QEUH (Kings Lynn)
  • Local vaccine services - Community/primary care led services which could include using primary care facilities, retail, community facilities, temporary structures or roving teams. Roving teams will be used to deliver the vaccine directly to care homes and housebound individuals.
  • Vaccination centres - Large sites, such as sports and conference venues set up for high volumes of people 

See a full list of vaccination sites.

Vaccination dates

Following new advice from the UK Chief Medical Officers, your second coronavirus vaccination appointment may be now scheduled up to 12 weeks after the first dose.

This is so the NHS can get the first dose of the vaccine to more people as soon as possible. Your second vaccination should take place at the same location as your first.

Progress on rollout to cohorts

All frontline social care workers are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination and the NHS has begun vaccinating this cohort locally. All care home staff and residents should have now been offered their first dose of the vaccine, apart from those homes where there is a current outbreak.

The vaccine is now being rolled out to priority cohorts 1-10 and now includes:

  • All residents in care homes
  • All frontline health and social care workers
  • All those aged 45 and over
  • Those aged 16+ who share a household with someone who has severe immunosuppression

For a full list of the priority groups, please see the Government guidance on priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination. 

We are currently contacting providers we believe are eligible with information on how they can support their staff to access the vaccine. If you have not yet received any correspondence from us and feel that you should be included as part of this cohort then please contact vaccineplanning@norfolk.gov.uk

Further information about how you can help prepare for the rollout of the vaccination programme, including the latest forms and process around consent and administering the vaccine in care settings, can be found in the Covid vaccination section of the Knowledge Anglia website.

Finding nurses to support the vaccination programme

The NHS is interested in finding out how many registered nurses are willing to support the vaccination programme.

Care home nurses who are willing to vaccinate their residents and/or staff should contact Irene Karrouze, Care Provider Quality Improvement Nurse, NHS Norfolk and Waveney CCG at i.karrouze@nhs.net 

To become competent in immunisation, nurses need to complete the following modules/courses on the e-Learning for Health (e-LfH) platform:

For an extra face to face one and a half day training, email norfolkwaveneytraininghub@nhs.net

Tips for discussing the COVID vaccine with staff who have concerns

Below are some key tips to help you get the most out of the conversation:

  • Help them to feel comfortable – have the conversation in a comfortable, confidential space, not in a busy corridor
  • Don’t judge – people’s concerns will be real to them. Allow them to finish telling you what they are worried or concerned about, and don’t interrupt them with counter-arguments. Some people may be afraid of having the vaccination, and fear can be a strong emotion
  • Be empathetic – show understanding of where the person is coming from
  • Listen properly – use any active listening skills that you have. Some key ones are:
    • have good eye contact and an open posture
    • summarizing what the person is saying to you lets them know that they are being heard
    • using phrases like “so it sounds like….” or “it seems that….” can be helpful
  • Refer to beliefs that are worrying them as ‘concerns’ rather than ‘myths’; a myth isn’t true so using the word to describe someone’s genuine concern instantly dismisses it
  • Use evidence to show some points that may be helpful (depending on what the concern is), eg:
    • vaccinations are widely used in this country to keep control of other diseases that are known to spread easily and can be fatal, such as TB or measles. Thousands of people have these vaccinations every year with no ill-effects
  • Use credible sources of information – if information giving is something that might be helpful to the person, make sure that the source of the information is someone that you both agree is trustworthy. NHS has good information relating to vaccines, as do many organisations that represent specific communities and beliefs, such as:

 

Information in other languages

If you would like translations of this information, email covidops@norfolk.gov.uk.

Vaccination information resources

Communications toolkits

Social Care Workers COVID-19 vaccine questions and answers

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