ABHI STATEMENT ON PRIORITY GROUPS FOR COVID-19 VACCINATION
Topic : Position Papers Type : Briefing
ABHI acknowledges the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s advice on the prioritisation of vaccination, and calls for HealthTech industry staff supporting the delivery of essential, patient-facing services, to be recognised as frontline health and social care workers.
Background
Guidelines1 from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) highlight that the first priorities for the COVID-19 vaccination programme, should be the prevention of mortality and the protection of health and social care staff and systems.
HealthTech industry staff are a critical component of those systems, fulfilling key functions to support the delivery of healthcare. Certain HealthTech industry employees are, de facto, frontline health and care workers. They may be offering technical support for specialised procedures, maintaining or installing essential equipment, or delivering direct patient care in the community. They work alongside NHS colleagues, the only difference being that they are employed by industry rather than the service itself.
ABHI now requests that these indispensable staff are recognised as frontline health and social care workers, and placed in the appropriate vaccine priority group. (Priority Group 2 as of 6th January 2021).
HealthTech industry staff who should be considered as frontline health and social care workers include;
- Those providing clinical support in hospitals and community settings
- Those installing and maintaining medical equipment in hospitals and community settings
- Those providing in-hospital managed services.
1. www.gov.uk/government/publications/priority-groups-for-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccination-advice-from-the-jcvi-30-december-2020/joint-committee-on-vaccination-and-immunisation-advice-on-priority-groups-for-covid-19-vaccination-30-december-2020