The council hopes all care home residents will be vaccinated by the end of the month (Pixabay) Around seven out of 10 Redbridge residents in their 80s have now received their first dose of the Covid vaccine. However, it appears that vaccines for rough sleepers, promised by the council on January 13, have yet to begin. At a full council meeting on January 21, cabinet member for health Cllr Mark Santos (Lab, Hainault) said more than 18,000 doses had been given so far. He added that the borough’s vaccination scheme is also “on track to have people in care homes done by the end of January or, if not, the first week of February”.
Thanks to this incredible work, Redbridge will, this week, become one of the first councils in the country to roll out a targeted test and vaccination programme for local rough sleepers.
Conservative councillors Linda Huggett and Howard Berlin both raised the issue of vaccinating rough sleepers in Redbridge, on Monday, at an overview meeting.
They called on the council to follow the lead of Oldham Council, which was the first in the country to roll out this programme.
Oldham Council in Manchester was the first in the country to provide this service to rough sleepers.
- Credit: PA
Cabinet member for adult social care and health, Cllr Mark Santos, said: Vaccination is not a silver bullet but it is a very positive and significant part of a programme of measures to tackle this virus.