Skip to content
Login Register

Statement on updated guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and national public health authorities

27 Jan 2021

In light of the recently updated guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and national public health authorities on vaccination priority and increasing the interval between the first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, representatives of the UK Royal Surgical Colleges, the Federation of Surgical Specialty Associations, and Upper Airway Group have issued the following statement:

In light of the recently updated guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and national public health authorities on vaccination priority and increasing the interval between the first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, representatives of the UK Royal Surgical Colleges, the Federation of Surgical Specialty Associations, and Upper Airway Group have issued the following statement: 

“We are in agreement that the risk of COVID infection to all patient-facing staff remains severe, particularly now the new variant is predominant.

“The JCVI’s decision to lengthen the period between doses of the vaccine was taken after the most rigorous actuarial assessment of risk-benefit to the population as a whole. Public health advice is clear that this approach should save substantially more lives than if second doses were given as initially scheduled. 

“The profound concerns of some in the surgical community around not being offered the increased protection of a second dose are greatly respected and understood, however, they must be considered alongside evidence that significant protection is generated after a single dose. 

“We remain confident that the national public health authorities and JCVI are not only using all available evidence to determine the most equitable and rapid distribution of the available vaccines, but that they are also listening carefully to all concerns raised about the risks presented to all groups in our society. We respect the expertise of government advisers in making difficult judgements on how to minimise death rates during this pandemic. 

“We urge all in surgical teams to support the national effort to defeat this virus and maintain clear communication with your Colleges and Specialty Associations as new insights develop to help this battle.”

Signatories:

ENT UK

Federation of Surgical Specialty Associations

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh

Royal College of Surgeons of England

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow

Category: COVID-19


Share this story:

Latest news and statements

Key priority areas

Workforce Recovery and Transformation
Health services in many parts of the world are over-stretched due to workforce shortages, rising demand for services and difficulties in retaining staff.
Read more
Wellbeing
A healthy healthcare workforce is essential for patient care. When the workforce is exhausted, experiencing burnout, and struggling to balance their work and personal lives, it impacts on everyone.
Read more
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
We are committed to standing up for equality, diversity and inclusion. We want our College to reflect the diversity in the NHS workforce and in the patients that we care for.
Read more
Climate Change and Sustainability
Climate change has caused great harm to our planet and warnings of increasingly extreme heatwaves, droughts and flooding will all place a significant burden on our health outcomes.
Read more
Health Inequalities
The health inequalities in our society have been both highlighted and exacerbated by the covid pandemic. There is a need to do things differently.
Read more
COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the lives of healthcare professionals, and the urgent need to learn whilemfocusing on delivering the best care for our patients has been an enormous challenge.
Read more

Topics


Archive


Key links



Contact us

rcpsg@grayling.com
07714307976

Log in

Log in to access your Dashboard, book events, pay your subscriptions and access eLearning material.

Log in

Register an account

New users must register before logging in. You do not need to be a member of the College in order to register.

Register

Help

Having difficulty registering or logging in? Forgotten your username or password?

Get Help