The hope is that this information should ease any concerns that may be stopping people from coming forward.
Lord Stephen writes: “I have worked with faith communities throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic, most recently our discussions and efforts have focused on how we can collectively support people to access the vaccine – in particular undocumented people.
The vaccine will be offered and made available to everyone living in the UK free of charge, regardless of their immigration status and no immigration checks will be carried out. If you are registered with a GP surgery, you will be invited by the NHS when the vaccine becomes available to your cohort. However, you do NOT need to be registered at a GP surgery or have an NHS number to receive the vaccine. You should never be denied on this basis. This requirement is consistent across all permanent vaccine sites, pop-up sites and the roving model.
Community Pharmacies, Primary Care Network (PCN) vaccination hubs, pop-up sites, outreach and roving models of vaccine delivery will be able to offer help to those who are undocumented. They are able to either; register someone with a GP at point of care; or record the vaccine on paper and agree with the individual what the follow-up arrangements for the second vaccination. I recommend that you contact your local Director of Public Health or Local Authority who can provide locations of vaccination centres.
My officials are also working closely with partners and external organisations to share this message.
The Department for Health and Social Care have made clear to NHS trusts that patients known to be undergoing vaccination, testing and treatment for coronavirus or possible reaction to the vaccine are not subject to immigration status checks. No personal information will be shared outside of the NHS if a person takes the vaccine.
I want to encourage all those concerned about coming forward to the vaccine due to their status and to stress the importance of taking the vaccine for their own health and that of their community.”