Search questions

• Question by: Onkar Sahota
• Meeting date: 04 February 2021

Dr Onkar Sahota AM: I also am a GP and want to echo the comments about the tremendous efforts made by the NHS staff in delivering the vaccination programme, but there are challenges in London. If you look at the number of over-80s vaccinated, London had the lowest rate of vaccinations. If you look at the patchwork we have in London, I hear that some parts of London are more advanced than the others and I hear that some parts of London have been asked to slow down to let other parts catch up. There are some challenges. It is...

• Question by: Siân Berry
• Meeting date: 04 February 2021

Siân Berry AM: Thank you very much, Chair. I want to start with Martin Machray if that is all right. I know that we have just discussed the fact that London has been behind in vaccinating the over-80s and the fact that there are differences between boroughs. It has, I think, been hard for both you and us to get up-to-date, detailed, borough-by-borough data collated at a London level, and I just wanted to check what your progress was on making that data available to us so that we can keep an eye on things on a more day-to-day basis...

• Question by: Andrew Boff
• Meeting date: 04 February 2021

Andrew Boff AM: Dr Coffey, do you agree with the priority list published by the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation (JCVI)? Is it the right list?

• Question by: David Kurten
• Meeting date: 04 February 2021

David Kurten AM: I would like to ask, yes, Martin Machray if I could, back to the people who were here before. You refer to the vaccine or the injections that people are being given from Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna as vaccines. However, the substances from Pfizer and Moderna are not vaccines, as people understand vaccines. They are experimental Messenger RNA (mRNA) gene technologies. Why do you continue to refer to those two substances and injections as vaccines?

• Question by: Caroline Pidgeon
• Meeting date: 04 February 2021

Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM: I would like to start my questions with Martin [Machray]. I would like to ask you about the take-up of the vaccine amongst blind and visually impaired people. Some serious concerns were raised on the [BBC] Radio 4 In Touch programme last week and have been powerfully highlighted by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) relating to the challenges in accessing information and travelling to get the vaccine. In terms of getting the vaccine, I understand why places like the ExCeL centre are being used for vaccinations, but travelling when blind, at the best...

• Question by: Navin Shah
• Meeting date: 04 February 2021

Navin Shah AM (Chair): Right. My question is on vaccination hesitancy in BAME communities and to start with, I would like to address my question to Dr Coffey. According to the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), only 57% of BAME people would be willing to take a COVID‑19 vaccine in comparison with 79% of white people. In particular, confidence is reportedly lowest amongst black communities, with some reports of 72% not willing to take the vaccine. The spread of the misinformation and conspiracy theories via social media networks can be identified as one of the causes of this. What...

• Question by: Alison Moore
• Meeting date: 04 February 2021

Dr Alison Moore AM: My first question is for Tom Coffey. Phase 1 of the current COVID-19 vaccination programme covers care home residents, for example, and those over 50. Phase 2 covers the rest of the population and the JCVI has said, and I quote, “Vaccination of those at risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 due to their occupation could also be a priority in the next phase”. My first question is: what discussions, if any, has the Mayor had with the Government over whether to prioritise key workers’ COVID-19 vaccination programme and, if so, when should they receive their vaccination?

• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 04 February 2021

Murad Qureshi AM: Thank you, Chair. Can I address my question to Martin and then Tom? Martin, you informed us earlier that yesterday we had over a million Londoners vaccinated with the first jab. Martin Machray (Joint Regional Chief Nurse for London and Covid-19 Incident Director, NHS England): Yes. Murad Qureshi AM: That is great news, but can you give us an estimate of the proportion of Londoners not registered with GPs, and how we intend to vaccinate them?

• Question by: Joanne McCartney
• Meeting date: 04 February 2021

Joanne McCartney AM : My first question is to Martin Machray. We have heard earlier that some Londoners are hesitant to get the vaccine and work is being carried out to build their trust and confidence, but are records being kept consistently across all of London’s Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) of those who have declined the vaccine, and is there capacity in the system in a few months’ time to contact those people again whose confidence may have risen?

• Question by: Tony Devenish
• Meeting date: 04 February 2021

Tony Devenish AM: Thank you, Chair. My question is to Dr Tom. Firstly, Dr Tom, thank you so much for all you have done. You have always been very responsive to my constituents on all health issues and it is really appreciated. I think now what we have heard this morning is the NHS is doing a fantastic job but we need all the team to communicate, communicate, communicate and communicate some more. I am amazed that the Mayor is not here this morning because he was always banging on about being a son of a bus driver until we...