Minutes:
LindaJackson provideda verbalupdate outliningthe council’son-going responseto Covid-19. Thethree keyareas werethe borough’sinfection rate;testing strategy andthe implementationof masstesting forpeople whowere asymptomatic;and the vaccinationstrategy currentlybeing ledby theNHS. Inthe pastseven days506 infectious caseshad beenrecorded andthe mostrecent figureof 439.1indicated a reductionper hundredthousand ofthe population.At thepeak ofthe secondwave, this figurewas closerto 1000per hundredthousand ofpopulation. The positivityrate was 15.8%,so thatfor everyone hundredpeople, 15.8%had testedpositive. Linda Jacksonoutlined thecouncil’s activitieswhich includedsupport forlocal business throughoutthe pandemic,remarkable workaround socialisolation, freeschool meal vouchersand workwith communityand voluntarysector mutualaid groups,and the CommunityAid Network and referrals to thefoodbank had increased significantly.
Linda Jacksonhighlighted threekey elementswhich combinedto forma Covid defence.First, thecommunity neededto continueto socialisolate, goingout only whennecessary. Therewere three,mass testsites andfive pop-upsites located acrossthe boroughfor asymptomatictests. Additionaltest optionsincluded free hometesting kitsand lateralflow test.A thirdelement wasthe NHSdelivery ofthe vaccination throughprimary carenetworks acrossthe boroughat keysites inWhite City, Shepherds Bushand ParsonsGreen according to theeligibility criteria.
The targetfigure forcompleting vaccinationfor thesegroups was14 February2021 and whichincorporated theimpact oflower thanexpected vaccinetake up.There was significantwork beingundertaken locallyto addressthis andstrong encouragement toaccept vaccineappointments asand whenthese wereoffered. H&F clinical commissioning group was allocating suppliesof the vaccines locally.
Victoria Brignellcommended LindaJackson andH&F colleaguesfor theircommitment toprotecting residentsand toensure continuityin services.Clarification was soughtregarding vaccinationarrangements forcarers andpersonal assistants
employedby disabled peopleunder thedirect payment programme. Itwas confirmed that allpersonal assistants hadreceived aletter thisweek and thosewho weredirect payment recipientswould beasked toconfirm thenumber anddetails ofpeople they employed.
ACTION: For the Director of Covid-19 to providefurther detail aboutthe council’s response to Covid-19 at thenext
meeting ofthe Committee
Echoingearlier comments,Councillor Lloyd-Harriscommended thestrength ofthe council’s responseand thankedsenior officersfor theirwork, undertakenin challenging anddifficult circumstances.Clarification wassought aboutthe hesitancy abouttesting incare homes.Linda Jacksonconfirmed thattesting wasrequired ifa care homewanted toremain openbut clarifiedthat vaccine“hesitancy” wasan issuenationally. LisaRedfern confirmedthat approximately94 peoplehad receivedthe vaccine atH&F carehomes butthere werealso smaller,supported livingunits to includewithin this.Staff takeup hadbeen encouragedand generallythis hadbeen positive. Awhole communityengagement planhad beenagreed, workingwith a rangeof groupsand resourcesabout thevaccine hadbeen distributedin several languages andformats to ensurean effective dissemination of information.
Councillor JonathanCaleb-Landy thankedLisa Redfern,Linda Jacksonand their teamsfor alltheir workand echoedearlier comments,recognising howfortunate the boroughhad been tohave theirsupport. CouncillorCaleb-Landy asked ifthere were communitiesthat wereharder toreach andthe areaswhere therewas lowvaccine uptake.Linda Jacksonexplained thatshe wasexpecting toreceive localdata from theCCG witha demographicprofile ofthose refusingthe vaccine.It hadbeen acknowledged thatthere werehigher ratesof hesitancyamongst blackAfro- Caribbean’s withabout 50%refusing thevaccine buta moredetailed breakdownof the demographicand datawithin thiswas needed.The issueof someminority ethnic groupsnot havingthe vaccinewas aconcern. Havingtrusted community voicesto answerquestions aboutthe vaccineshelped tocounter themisinformation that wascurrently beingdisseminated wascritical. LindaJackson confirmedthat the council’scommunications teamwere workingto challengemisinformation asa part ofa widerstrategy toimprove vaccinetake upand toease anxietyabout the vaccine.
CouncillorBen Colemanconfirmed thata programmeof engagementevents about vaccinehesitancy wasbeing plannedto initiateand supportlocal conversations aboutvaccine confidence.The councilhad raisedthe issuewith NHSand CCG colleaguesand requestedfocused dataabout “why”the offerof avaccine was declined.Councillor Colemanexpressed concernthat anopportunity toaddress the historicallylow vaccineuptake hadbeen missed.There wasa shockingcorrelation between lowuptake andsome minorityethnic communitieswhich wererecognised as havingexperienced healthinequalities correlatedpoor housing,low incomeand deprivation. Thiswas aworrying administrativefailure bythe CCGto notaddress this earlier in the pandemic anda serious concern.
Inresponse toa questionfrom CouncillorBora Kwon, Linda Jackson explained that the council was not eligible for additional funding recently made available to tackle vaccine engagement, but it may receive any surplus if available. The London boroughs of Brent and Harrow had been allocated funding and had agreed to share any learning obtained as a result. Linda Jackson encouraged members of the committee and others in the meeting to help champion the benefits of vaccination.
In response to a further question from Councillor Caleb-Landy about the provision of mental health support provided to staff Linda Jackson confirmed that there were several staff assistance initiatives in place, in addition to a regular programme of staff wellbeing online engagement events and webinars.
Co-optee Nadia Taylor sought clarification around which eligibility group recipients of a carers allowance had been placed in and the possible dates that carers might receive the vaccine. Linda Jackson confirmed that locally, where a person was known to have a carer an appointment was likely to be offered to that carer.
Co-optee Jim Grealy commended the excellent work that had been undertaken by the council and was impressed by the amount of information that had been provided across the borough utilising multiple media channels. Given this, the absence of similar guidance and information on vaccine uptake was queried. He also raised additional concerns about those who were housebound, struggled with travel and those who could not be contacted by GPs as they did not have mobile telephones. Linda Jackson explained that the council was working with healthcare providers to support the vaccination of the over 80s cohort. Of this group, there currently remained approximately a 100 housebound people in H&F who wanted to be vaccinated. For the 75+ cohort, the NWL target was to have 75% vaccinated by 14 February 2021. Logistics around transporting and storing the Pfizer vaccine had resulted in some delays which had become more manageable as the AstraZeneca vaccine was made available. Linda Jackson confirmed that she would convey the points about messaging to GP practices with CCG colleagues.
ACTION: Director of Covid-19 to provide feedback to the local CCG regarding consistent messaging
Councillor Asif Siddique enquired about what provision had been made to support vulnerable groups to access test sites and whether sites were fully accessible. It was confirmed that there were several accessible pop up sites available and similar provision had been made regarding vaccination centres. In addition, all staff who worked within these areas had received training in providing additional support where required with high standards of customer care.
RESOLVED
That the Committee noted the verbal report.