The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended that frontline healthcare staff including dentists and other staff providing dental services be vaccinated in priority group two. This advice was on based on their increased personal risk of exposure to infection with COVID-19 and of transmitting that infection to vulnerable patients.

Vaccinating dental staff also protects public health and enables access to services for patients. Staff were invited for their first vaccine dose before 15 February 2021 and will be have been offered their second dose within 12 weeks of their first.

Frontline healthcare staff eligible for prioritisation for the COVID-19 vaccine include those who have frequent face-to-face clinical contact with patients and who are directly involved in patient care in either secondary or primary care/community settings. Doctors, dentists, midwives and nurses, paramedics and ambulance drivers, pharmacists, optometrists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and radiographers would be included in this group.

Giving immunisations is usually a registered activity undertaken by registered healthcare professionals. However, due to the unprecedented scale of the vaccination programme, some tasks can be delegated to suitably trained, unregistered staff working under a National Protocol. An unregistered, retired dentist can apply to be an unregistered vaccinator and be appropriately trained and recertified as being competent to draw up and vaccinate within the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

Those administering the vaccines are either existing healthcare staff or those recruited specifically for the programme– including those who signed up to the NHS Bring Back scheme.   There are a number of roles within the vaccination programme and these will require different levels of qualifications and experience.

The Department recently changed legislation to allow a wider group of people to administer vaccines, including more health care professionals as well as others who have passed a programme of training developed by Public Health England and Health Education England. New vaccinators will be assessed in person and closely supervised to ensure their and patients’ safety.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that phase one of the COVID-19 vaccination programme should be targeted at reducing mortality, as well as protecting health and social care staff and systems. As a result, vaccines have first been prioritised amongst care home residents and staff, followed by people aged over 80 years old and health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors.

As set out by the JVCI, dental care staff fall under the second priority cohort during phase one, comprising of health and social care workers. The JCVI’s advice states that this not only includes those working for the NHS, but also those in independent, voluntary, non-standard and community healthcare settings.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that phase one of the COVID-19 vaccination programme should be targeted at reducing mortality, as well as protecting health and social care staff and systems. As a result, vaccines have first been prioritised amongst care home residents and staff, followed by people aged over 80 years old and health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors.

As set out by the JVCI, dental care staff fall under the second priority cohort during phase one, comprising of health and social care workers. The JCVI’s advice states that this not only includes those working for the NHS, but also those in independent, voluntary, non-standard and community healthcare settings.

The Government takes advice from the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) regarding who should be vaccinated first and this is kept under review. The JCVI has advised that the immediate priority for the current COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of mortality and the protection of health and social care staff and systems.

In phase one of the vaccination programme, all frontline healthcare staff who are eligible for seasonal influenza vaccination will be offered a COVID-19 vaccine. This includes doctors, dentists, midwives and nurses, paramedics and ambulance drivers, pharmacists, optometrists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and radiographers.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine/s the United Kingdom should use, including prioritisation at a population level. For the first phase, the JVCI has advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, as well as frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors. Included are those with underlying health conditions, which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality.

Frontline healthcare staff include those who have frequent face-to-face clinical contact with patients and who are directly involved in patient care in either secondary or primary care/community settings. This includes dentists, as well as non-clinical ancillary staff who may have social contact with patients but are not directly involved in patient care. Their advice states that this not only includes those working for the National Health Service, but also those in independent, voluntary, non-standard and community healthcare settings.

An enormous amount of work has already taken place to ensure we have the required workforce to roll out a COVID-19 vaccine to the United Kingdom population at the pace and scale required.

To enable this, the Department made changes to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 in Oct 2020 (The Human Medicines (Coronavirus and Influenza) (Amendment) Regulations 2020). This allows additional health care professionals and those who have passed a programme of extensive training developed by Public Health England and Health Education England to safely administer a licensed or temporarily authorised influenza or COVID-19 vaccine.

Staff working in dental services – particularly those who are registered with relevant professional groups – have been encouraged to consider applying for temporary roles to support the COVID-19 vaccination programme, including as vaccinators. Information has been provided to dental staff groups on how they might apply for these opportunities.