RCGP strongly urges NHS and care staff to get vaccinated

Responding to a survey by Press Association showing a fifth of care home staff do not plan to have the Covid-19 vaccine, Professor Martin Marshall, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said:

“GPs and our teams - and colleagues across the NHS - are working hard to vaccinate as many people as possible to protect them from Covid-19. We’ve already vaccinated more than 3m people, and so far what we’re hearing is that take up is encouraging.

"Frontline health and care staff are quite rightly considered a priority for vaccination because they are at high risk of contracting the virus. Getting vaccinated will help protect themselves, their colleagues and their patients.

"The Covid-19 vaccine is our most important tool in protecting people from the virus, and helping to get life back to normal. Both vaccines that we’re currently using in the UK have undergone rigorous testing to ensure they are safe and effective - as such, we’d urge anyone who is offered a jab to have one."

Further information

(For media only)

RCGP Press office – 020 3188 7633/7494/7574

Out of hours: 0203 188 7659 

press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editor

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 52,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.