The rate of vaccination amongst certain ethnic communities is reducing in Manchester – so the Manchester Integrated Care Partnership (MICP) will be starting a targeted vaccination campaign for them.
Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean and Indian populations in Manchester have seen a decline in their rates of Covid and flu vaccinations.
Starting on 7 October, MICP, headed by Manchester City Council (MCC), will be attempting to target these communities with vaccines.
Joanne Roney, chief executive of Manchester City Council, said: “We have always known why we need to do this.”
It is suggested that the MICP should focus on neighbourhoods and have ‘mobile targeted vaccination’ across the city.
To push this further, it will be deploying outreach and pop-up officers in several localities around the city.
This was announced as a part of the care partnership’s winter plans, which will aim to reduce the load on the NHS over the winter.
The MICP’s members include MCC, the NHS Manchester Foundation Trust, The Manchester Local Care Organisation and Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust, all of whom will be working towards this objective.
Leader of the MCC Bev Craig said bits of the system are yet to be worked out. The MICP will be reviewing its winter plan in November, hoping for the best possible outcome.
She encourages members to bring in as much scrutiny as possible, and said: “Just because we don’t measure it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t tell us a story. We need to create a system that it is better than other things, but this is really a system that can help others.”
Feature Image: Screen grab from Manchester City Council webcast.
