Thinking of volunteering to vaccinate?
Posted on: Thursday 4 February 2021
Author: FPM
Photograph courtesy of SELF magazine. Photographer: Heather Hazzan; Wardrobe: Ronald Burton; Props: Campbell Pearson; Hair: Hide Suzuki; Makeup: Deanna Melluso at See Management. Shot on location at One Medical.
This page was originally published on 6 January 2021 and will be updated with emerging information and guidance.
Regulations and statutory guidance
The Human Medicines Regulations, clause 174 states that:
“The prohibitions in regulation 46 (requirement for authorisation) do not apply where the sale or supply of a medicinal product is authorised by the licensing authority on a temporary basis in response to the suspected or confirmed spread of … pathogenic agents …”
On 16 October 2020, the Human Medicines (Coronavirus and Influenza) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/1125) entered into force. The Regulations cover temporary authorisations for vaccines, civil liability and immunity for participants in vaccination programmes, expansion of the healthcare workforce who can administer vaccines, promotion of vaccines and an exemption to wholesale licensing requirement.
Registering: For more information and to register please follow this link, which is likely to be the most appropriate route for most UK-based FPM members https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/returning-clinicians/
General statutory guidance
Additionally, NHS England and NHS Improvement have issued operational guidance on the requirement to vaccinate frontline health and social care workers. Read the guidance
You can also download Gov.uk documents relating to the new coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination programme.
Indemnity
Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice (CNSGP) operated by NHS Solutions. More details about CNSGP can be found at: https://resolution.nhs.uk/services/claims-management/clinical-schemes/general-practice-indemnity/clinical-negligence-scheme-for-general-practice/
What indemnity cover is available to healthcare staff drafted in to assist general practices specifically during Covid-19, such as medical and nursing students, private healthcare staff, pharmacists and formerly retired medical and nursing staff coming temporarily out of retirement?
The Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice (CNSGP) provides indemnity cover to all those who provide NHS primary medical services under one of the standard NHS general practice contracts (GMS, PMS, APMS) to patients registered in England. Such healthcare staff engaged by general practices to assist during Covid-19 in delivering primary medical care, under a general practice contract (GMS, PMS, APMS), will therefore be covered by the CNSGP.
More information on indemnity: https://resolution.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Indemnity-arrangements-for-the-COVID-19-vaccination.pdf
Links and FPM member experiences
The article neatly outlines the regulatory changes brought in on the 16th October 2020
The following article gives some more information and context https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n13.short
As per a recent letter from the NHS to an FPM member:
If you would like your contact details to be shared with your local Primary Care Networks (PCNs) then please email england.primarycareworkforce@nhs.net including your postcode, CCG and PCN name if known, so that your details can be directed appropriately. Depending on the number of people interested, it may take three or more days to connect doctors directly with their local PCNs.
We have also learnt that several pharmaceutical companies are extending their volunteering schemes to allow employees who are healthcare professionals to volunteer for an unlimited time for vaccination.
It has also been reported that you can potentially also apply to become a vaccinator through Medacs. https://www.medacs.com/
Read our COVID-19 blog articles
Inhalation therapies for COVID-19
Can we inhibit the initial stages of the infection of the respiratory tract?
Pregnancy, COVID-19 and Emerging Therapeutic Options
Allyah Abbas-Hanif, Sue Tansey, Sankarasubramanian Rajaram, Penny Ward
FPM Clinical Trials Resilience Survey – Report Published
Adaptations and innovations made to clinical trial programmes and regulatory frameworks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Blog article: Preparedness Planning on Public Health Emergencies (PHEs)
The webinar series that has brought FPM into the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What you need to know about COVID-19 testing
An article by Robert L Holland FFPM and John Bagshaw of the British In Vitro Diagnostics Association
Press release: Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine launches ‘Principles for Clinical Studies into COVID-19’ guidance
Read the press release
COVID-19 – how pharmaceutical medicine is meeting the challenge
A report of the FPM survey of members on the effect of COVID-19 on their professional lives
The ethics of conducting clinical trials in the search for treatments and vaccines against COVID-19
Some of the important ethical issues when planning and conducting clinical trials in the COVID 19 pandemic.
COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic
A landmark review by Dr Penny Ward et al addressing current knowledge concerning SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 disease.
