Orchard Care Homes is providing independent medical information to staff about Covid vaccinations via a series of Teams webinars to boost uptake.
The provider, which operates 24 care homes in northern England and the Midlands, currently has 79 per cent of staff who have had their first jab, with 75 per cent having a second dose.
While some of the remaining staff will be covered by a medical exemption, Orchard has called in Dr. Stephen Griffin, associate professor at University of Leeds School of Medicine, to speak about the Covid-19, its impact and the development and effects of the vaccination programme.
“We are encouraging all colleagues to have their vaccinations and by providing independent information, we are ensuring that all our staff have the opportunity to make an informed choice that is right for them,” said Orchard’s director of people and talent Rebecca Dobson (pictured).
“We’re delighted to be able to provide these sessions with Dr Griffin for our colleagues. They have been hugely informative and relatable, providing factual information and dispelling many of the myths and inaccuracies that have been circulated, particularly on social media, in regard to the vaccinations,” she added.
During the sessions, Dr. Griffin addressed many questions, with the most common being “is the vaccine safe as it was produced so quickly?”
Dr. Griffin explained that the vaccine already uses established technology so that legislation and administration was significantly reduced and red tape was removed, allowing them to be prioritised and approved in rapid time.
He added that the trials were designed to make faster testing and development possible and it was not limited to the number of patients, which is normally a constraint.
The Phase 3 trials had upwards of 40,000 people in, meaning rarer side effects could be spotted and all of this allowed for quick development and analysis, making the vaccines extremely well characterised and accurate for safety and efficacy.
“By supporting Orchard Care Homes with these webinars, I was able to talk to colleagues throughout the business, addressing any questions that they had and providing information on how the vaccines have been developed, biology and the role vaccines play in programming our immune systems,” said Dr. Griffin.
“The misinformation that has been spread across social media is incredibly frustrating to myself and my scientific colleagues, and hopefully these sessions have gone some way to putting minds at ease and making people think more about having their vaccination,” he added.
