News from Len Duvall OBE: 84.1% of over 60s in South East London CCG given first dose so far

Local NHS teams have been praised for rolling out the first dose of the vaccine to 84.1% of over 60s in South East London CCG so far, by local London Assembly Member, Len Duvall AM. Mr Duvall said that these “incredible efforts” deserve “our huge praise”. The latest weekly NHS vaccination figures covering the period between 8^th December 2020 and 7^th March 2021, reveal that South East London Clinical Commissioning Group has one of the best performing rollout programmes in the capital.

However, Mr Duvall is raising some wider concerns about the disparity in vaccination rates across London. While eight other CCGs in the capital have uptake rates of above 80% for first doses amongst the over 60s, boroughs such as Westminster and Tower Hamlets have only achieved 61% and 66% coverage, respectively. NHS data also shows that ten of the worst performing Parliamentary constituencies in the country are all in London.

Last week, the Minister for COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment, Nadhim Zahawi, predicted that there will be “bumper weeks” ahead for the vaccine rollout in London. Mr Duvall is now urging the Government to look at the differences in the uptake rates between London’s CCGs and focus upon proportionately directing any increase in the supply of doses to the areas that are lagging behind.

With vaccine hesitancy continuing to present significant obstacles in the rollout, Mr Duvall is also calling for the NHS to provide more granular data showing uptake data by ethnicity on a CCG level. Currently, weekly NHS figures only provide this on the wider level of the five Sustainability Transformation Partnerships (STPs) in London.

He is also urging the Government to come forward with further rounds of their COVID-19 Community Champions Fund. In January, the original allocation of the fund, aimed at helping local authorities encourage vaccine uptake in their communities, only went to seven London boroughs.

Local London Assembly Member, Len Duvall AM, said:

“These figures are a testament to the incredible efforts of local NHS teams and volunteers in rolling out the first doses of the vaccine. They deserve our huge praise.

“We should be clear that this a race against the virus and not against other boroughs or parts of the country. This is why it is important to address some of the disparities in vaccine uptake that we are seeing across the capital.

“Some of the factors behind this could be to do with supply and vaccine hesitancy. Any uplift in vaccine supply must be proportionately shared out across the capital.

“Access to ethnicity uptake data on a more granular and localised level, and more financial support from the Government, could help local authorities to better target resources towards alleviating the concerns that some members of their communities might have towards getting their first dose”.