PCNs have been asked to visit all housebound patients in the first six cohorts for a Covid vaccination by the end of 14 March.
Announcing the target in a letter on Tuesday (2 March), NHS England said that there will be ‘minimal’ supply of Covid vaccines next week, which allows PCNs to focus on ‘time-intensive’ hard-to-reach groups.
The letter also advised GPs to re-offer the Covid vaccine to any housebound patients who have not had it already.
It said: ‘For PCNs, all eligible housebound patients who have not yet had their vaccination should be re-offered the vaccine and housebound visits for cohorts 1-6 should be complete by close on Sunday 14 March.’
It added that PCNs should revisit care homes to ensure carers receive their first dose, and that local areas should use ‘pop up’ vaccination centres and other interventions to ensure all eligible groups are offered the jab.
GPs are entitled to an extra £10 for every Covid vaccination delivered to a housebound patient due to the extra staff time and complexity involved.
The letter also said that PCNs should plan to administer roughly twice the current number of jabs from 15 March, when supply will ‘increase substantially’ for ‘several weeks’.
Health secretary Matt Hancock this week announced that more than 20 million people across the UK have now had their first Covid jab.
The Government’s ambition is for all adults in the UK to have been offered a first dose of a Covid vaccine by the end of July.
