Questions to the Mayor of London – answered at on 22 January 2021.
Front line transport workers, particularly bus, taxi and private hire drivers, have been at greater risk of infection from coronavirus during the pandemic. Will you support early vaccination for these front line workers as part of the national prioritisation process?
Last month I wrote to Matt Hancock welcoming the JCVI’s initial prioritisation of people living in care homes and care workers and that alongside care home staff, frontline NHS staff will also receive the vaccine as early as possible.
The JCVI recommends that phase two includes the roll out of the vaccine to others delivering key public services, which I welcome, and which should include prioritisation of key workers, who might be more vulnerable to infection due to the public-facing nature of their work and because they cannot work from home.
Some BAME communities are over-represented in these frontline occupations and have been disproportionally impacted by COVID-19.
I recently asked the Government’s Vaccines Minster to work with London leaders in preparation for a second phase of the rollout that may be more focused on occupation and roles that put people at greater risk.