Education and training requirements for vaccinators
With an ongoing pandemic Public Health England states that it is crucial that COVID-19 vaccines are safely and effectively delivered to as many of those eligible as possible. This will require knowledgeable, confident and competent vaccinators. It is therefore vital that anyone administering the vaccine is given the time and opportunity to undertake the comprehensive training they need and that they are supervised and supported in practice as required.
The education and training recommendations set out by PHE can be found here: Training recommendations for COVID-19 vaccinators - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). In addition vaccinators need to be aware of the legal mechanisms for the administration of the CoVID-19 vaccines, nationals protocols and patient group direction which for England can be found here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccination-programme/legal-mechanisms/
In Wales, information for vaccinators can be found here: : https://phw.nhs.wales/topics/immunisation-and-vaccines/covid-19-vaccination-information/resources-for-health-and-social-care-professionals/
In Scotland: https://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/news/coronavirus-covid-19-learning-materials-for-professionals/
In Northern Ireland: https://www.publichealth.hscni.net/covid-19-coronavirus/northern-ireland-covid-19-vaccination-programme/professional-information
Midwives and nurses are also required to act in line with the NMC Code, in relation to the administration of vaccines this is outlined here: https://www.nmc.org.uk/news/coronavirus/vaccines/
updated: January 2021