Three in 10 care home residents in England not recorded as receiving booster jab

More than two-thirds of care home staff and almost a third of residents in England have not received a coronavirus vaccine booster, latest figures have suggested.

Some 28.8% of staff and 69.7% of residents had received a booster jab as of November 21, according to figures from NHS England.

This means 71.2% of staff (326,281 staff) and 30.3% of residents (95,716 residents) have not been recorded as having received their booster as of Sunday.

In younger age care homes, 24% of staff and 50.2% of residents have received their booster dose.

Overall, it means that 391,795 of all staff (71.9%) and 113,420 of all residents (32.2%) have not been recorded as being fully vaccinated.

The figures are based on responses from 96.5% of older age care homes and 93.1% of younger age care homes.

There will be some staff whose vaccination status is unknown while there may also be a time lag in some vaccinations being reported, NHS England said.

The Government’s target was to have offered boosters to all care homes by early November.

On November 5, it said boosters had been either already delivered or booked in at every older adult care home in England where safe to do so.

The booster programme started around two months ago.

The jabs are available six months after a second dose for all adults aged 40 and over, along with other key groups including frontline health and social care workers, while third doses are available eight weeks after a second dose to people aged 12 and over with severely weakened immune systems.

Updated clinical guidance means care home residents who had their second dose at different times can be given their booster at the same time, as long as the gap is at least five months.

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