Sir Mike Penning calls on the Vaccine Minister to ensure that the NHS vaccine programme volunteers are given plenty of notice about when they will be needed.
Sir Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead) (Con)
I completely support—the whole House will concur—the fantastic work that the NHS has done through the vaccine programme. It is great news that they are coming forward and are ready, but the army of volunteers I saw and worked with in my constituency are exhausted. They need to know up front how often and when they will be needed, because the programme cannot happen without not just vaccinations from the NHS, but the army of people who come forward and put their own lives at risk so others can be safe.
Nadhim Zahawi (The Minister for Covid Vaccine Deployment)
My right hon. Friend raises an incredibly important point that we look at every single day. In my ops meetings, we have a section dedicated to the workforce and specifically to the volunteers, so that we can make sure that they are put on notice of where and when we think we will need them. The only caveat that I would add is that we have built a very large infrastructure, but it has to flex depending on the advice from the JCVI, the MHRA and, of course, our chief medical officers.