Photo courtesy of BBC Midlands Today

Homeless people across the West Midlands are now being vaccinated against the dangers of coronavirus following the Government’s decision to move homeless people up the priority list.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) reported that people who were homeless or sleeping rough had high rates of undiagnosed comorbidities, and that half of them in effect had no access to healthcare.

In Birmingham GPs are working with a charity to get the jabs out on the streets and the first session took place at a clinic in Digbeth.

It was GP Aisha Sharif’s idea to partner with charity Homeless One. “When it comes to providing the vaccination, there were quite a lot of inequalities because people were not registered with a GP, or didn’t have NHS numbers, so they were overlooked in the beginning”, says Dr Sharif from the Bellevue Medical Centre. “Sites like these where people come for food and other help are a good place to target, so that’s why we set up the clinic here.”

Jeremy, a service user, who had the vaccine at the Digbeth clinic said, “The jab wasn’t painful. It’s a necessary part of government policy. I was desperate to get it to protect my health and others.”

Daniel lost his job during lockdown and is living in temporary accommodation. He hopes the vaccine will get him back into work. “It’s a great feeling down here”, he says. “There are homeless people and others, like me, who are in temporary accommodation. We’re all struggling. I think everyone needs to get the jab, just to get things back to normal, so I was happy to come and get it done.”

In Wolverhampton homeless people are being vaccinated in conjunction with Wolverhampton City Council. Homeless people in Shrewsbury have been able to get the vaccine through a partnership between the local authority, Riverside Surgery and charity Shrewsbury Ark.

People who are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination can go online to the national booking service to arrange a jab at a time and location that is convenient for them.

The booking service can be accessed online at www.nhs.uk/COVID-vaccination. Anyone who cannot go online can also call the NHS vaccination booking line on 119, free of charge.