Vaccines for council workers

[PaperHalo]

Are council workers being vaccinated in your area?
My local council admitted vaccinating 51 maintenance workers as ‘they have to enter people’s homes’. I was irritated by this as there are many trades the have to work in people’s homes that won’t get a priority vaccine because their employer is not my local council! Pest controllers, gas man, electrician, plumbers and so on... but whatever, I guess any person getting a vaccine brings us one step closer to normal...

But today it came to light that office staff are also getting vaccinated! Actual booked appointments not just turning up for the left overs at the end of the shift. I think this is pretty shocking when the list of others like bus drivers, shop workers, childminders, bank staff and so on aren’t a priority for the vaccine or the hoards of other office workers who aren’t working from home but whose employer doesn’t happen to be the council!

Is this just my council or is this happening everywhere?

I only know of health and social care workers being vaccinated in my council but I doubt they would advertise if others were.

No not happening in my area. Although I would expect that it's reception staff (if buildings are open obviously) that are the ones being vaccinated.

My local council are having frontline staff vaccinated, i.e those who are health and social care workers or who have to enter sheltered housing, care homes etc. No office staff as far as I'm aware but then I doubt they'd be shouting it from the rooftops.

Really? So what? Thank God I’m not the person who has to make these decisions. And thank God vaccines are going into arms.

I think health and social care workers had the highest rates of death from Covid.

Is there not the possibility to claim from the government as a self-employed tradesman?
There have been some 350 deaths among social care staff and even more have suffered severe symptoms/hospitalisation. Moreover, the vaccines arrived too late for most care facilities so the risk has not diminished .
Perhaps a better investment years ago in health and medical services
would have helped but no nothing is fair in any situation

Lots of council workers are helping to run the vaccination centres, if they go down with COVID more will have to go in their place.

Someone has to continue running the public services, making sure that benefits are paid, bins are emptied, COVID business grants are paid and essential/statutory services continue. If lots of council staff are off either with COVID and/or manning the vaccination centres there is no one to run those essential services. Protecting public services is important.

I don't see how a council can do this, as it is NHS who arrange the jabs.

And until they have established more fully, jabs are not being given on the basis of stopping transmission. Not even the immediate household of the CEV (who may not form proper immune response themselves) can get a jab to protect them.

Do you know any of these people directly, or did you just hear from someone?

I think it is very likely this is a tall story, possibly loosely based on the idea that some random people have had 'end of day' jabs

@SexTrainGlue many (probably all) councils are working with the NHS on vaccination. They at specifically providing lists of workers and volunteers for the jab, based on their definition of front line work. It's definitely the case here.

In our area the County Council are arranging vaccinations for front line staff in areas like social services/care. Districts are asking for vaccines for customer facing staff who go into homes but, so far as I know, it hasn't been approved. No office based staff are receiving them.

In my council frontline health and social care workers are, i.e social workers, reablement workers etc. But not admin.

All frontline social care staff are receiving vaccines in my council. Some housing staff as well (eg: homeless officers and repairs) This is based on risk. Social care workers especially women have high death rates from Covid. This has largely been unmentioned in the news & media.

I am aware of 2 people one a relative that work for our council in social care but who have worked from home in office roles since last March who have had their jabs.

As long as people are being vaccinated that's all that really matters.
Although when it comes to council workers obviously those in social care should be high up the list but so should the men and women who do the bins who have worked tirelessly and unsafely throughout.
I'm a childminder I'd actually be grateful if I could actually access weekly testing at home but all that's been offered is LFT which I have to book at a centre that's only open between 9-6 Mon-Fri which is no good as thats in my working hours

I work for the council and have had my first jab but am frontline. Office staff etc have not been offered the vaccine.

Brother works in HR for a private hospital, wfh, no direct contact with patients or anyone at all at the moment - had his vaccine.

It's not just councils.

My friend has had her vaccine she works for a council and visits people occasionally to look at their kitchens and bathrooms. I can’t begrudge her it - one less case in the community surely

I totally get someone may qualify who works behind the scenes at an essential service as they're a vital cog in the wheel to keep it going. However, there are many jobs who have much higher contact and for that reason should qualify first..

Council workers in my area are being offered it but as far as I know it's only those with a lot of client contact, so tenancy support workers who do home visits, homelessness workers etc.

I know in my council the maintenance people also do the disabilities and elderly maintenance and equipment supply.

My partner volunteers in a vaccination centre so I suppose I just know too much. Perhaps ignorance is bliss is the best way forward!
After all every vaccine given is a step closer to the end game.

I would hope those planned to be staffing vaccination centres would need to be protected before any mass vaccination.

Council workers have also worked throughout the pandemic, (no furlough), with many working either front line or behind the scenes in essential services - which have been chronically underfunded for decades and are likely to be stripped further, especially as funding is meant to be coming from business rates (funked, do you see an open highstreet) or council tax (Raised to max and makes councils massively unpopular) and not central grant. Covid funding was a pittance.

Local government is a tough, poorly paid (gold plated pensions went donkeys years ago - NHS terms are now seen as far better) and thankless area to work in.

So in answer to your question, yes they are probably getting the jab, given the role they'll play.

If it becomes common to put occupational priority ahead of medical one, and on the basis of the expected but unproved effect on transmission, then the policy of denying it to cohabitants of the CEV becomes utterly heartless and it would be a great shame they are not similarly protected. Ditto those who want to visit loved ones in care homes, who have been so starved of human contact

Also which occupations 'qualify' should be settled nationally. There is nothing right or fair about otherwise healthy young being being vaccinated in one area because of their work, but not in other areas.

As someone who has just waved my DH off as he goes off to work in 4 houses today, some for hours with the home owners leaning over him wanting to know what he is doing while he is working on their gas and electric, without a mention of a vaccine, the idea of someone WFH getting a vaccine makes my blood boil. He works for one of the big energy companies. 3 guys in his depot are off with covid. The amount of people who let him in, tell him they have no covid symptoms, and then cough on him 25 minutes later and say 'oh its nothing' is unreal.

I would also say that the council maintenance department where I live, also cover the council run care homes.

Yes, this is happening my region. Council workers, who WFH, have no underlying health probs and no client contact, getting their first vaccination.

I wonder if they've become eligible for it because the term 'keyworker' has become broader, in the same way that more people are able to send their children into school.