COVID-19 vaccinations (FOI)

Request

Under Freedom of information, please can you supply the following:

A

How many people have Doctors, Nurses and other health care employees of the States of Jersey and Public Health Jersey administered Covid-19 injections to, to date?

B

Have they given these injections to any children, if so how many?

As part of the legally required process of Informed Consent, before giving these injections:

C

Were patients routinely informed of the individual risk that Covid-19 posed to them, for their particular age group?

D

Were patients routinely informed that these vaccines are still part of an ongoing trial until 2023?

E

Were patients routinely informed that these vaccines were authorised for emergency use only?

F

Were patients routinely informed that these mRNA vaccines have never before been used on human beings?

G

Were patients routinely informed that the vaccine manufacturers currently all have immunity from liability for any adverse events and death?

H

Were patients routinely informed there is no medium to long term safety data for these vaccines?

I

Were patients routinely made aware of the Yellow Card data for these vaccines regarding the very high number of serious injuries and deaths compared to all other vaccines?

J

Exactly what other informed consent if any was given / obtained, relating to the risks and benefits of these vaccines?

Response

A

COVID-19 vaccination data is published weekly and is available on www.gov.je.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) data for Jersey (gov.je).

Vaccination data as at 13th February 2022 is as follows:

Government of Jersey - Vaccine coverage by priority groups (gov.je)

B

Please refer to the second link above.

C

The seeking and giving of consent is a process, rather than a one-off event. There are established informed consent avenues in place:

Prior to vaccination, the vaccinator will engage in a discussion regarding the risks and benefits of vaccination and gauge the individual's level of understanding (further explanations may be required until a satisfactory understanding is achieved). If necessary, further discussion with the doctor in the vaccination centre is organised either before the vaccination appointment or during the appointment.

For an individual to be able to make 'informed' consent, evidence-based information is readily available in multiple formats to islanders. For further information available please see:

Vaccine information for COVID-19 (gov.je)

D

All COVID vaccines used as part of the UK and Jersey vaccination programme were approved by the UK medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as being safe and effective for use in humans:

Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines side effects and safety (mrha.gov.uk)

Approved vaccines were then used in accordance with guidance issued by the UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

The MHRA has authorised three COVID-19

vaccines for supply and use in Jersey:

• Pfizer / BioNTech
• Oxford / AstraZeneca
  
• Moderna
  

All have been shown to be safe and effective in all clinical trials; all have all been put through standard safety testing before being rolled out to the public. The Government of Jersey have provided information throughout the course of the vaccine programme on the website. Please see the link provided in response to question (C).

E

Please see above.

F

The Government of Jersey Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) considers and complies with the advice of the UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).  JCVI guidance issued for each cohort specific vaccination workstreams is informed by worldwide peer reviewed evidence. In addition, peer reviewed evidence relating to vaccination is summarised in the 'Green Book':

All available vaccines have been shown to be safe and effective in all clinical trials, which includes human trials; all have all been put through standard safety testing before being rolled out to the public.

G

As COVID-19 vaccines are used in accordance with the MHRA authorisation, the manufacturer would be the entity liable for any adverse effects just as they would be for other licensed medicinal products.

H

The MHRA ensures that medicines and medical devices, including vaccines against COVID-19, work and are acceptably safe. The latest MHRA update is available as at 13th January 2022:

COVID-19 vaccines and medicines: updates for January 2022 (gov.je)   

The Government of Jersey have provided information throughout the course of the vaccine programme on the website. Please refer to the link in response to question (C).

I

Reported side effects are reported by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Please see the weekly summary of Yellow Card reporting:

Coronavirus vaccine - weekly summary of Yellow Card report - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Jersey uses and has always used the MHRA yellow card system because that provides the best data source - large numbers and a reliable source of any signals of adverse effects. The MHRA yellow card system records and publishes all events that may be associated with vaccines and medicines.

J

Please see answer to question (C).