Council Motion: Local Response to Covid

As the path out of lockdown and restrictions becomes clearer, there are still many questions over how we move forward. This motion from Watford highlights some of the issues at play – especially the important issue of vaccination reluctance, which many of us will have seen amongst our communities. Please remember that you should edit and alter these suggested motions to reflect the situation in your area and the way that circumstances have developed.

Council notes that:

1. Covid-19 has had a huge impact on the lives and livelihoods of residents in [AREA] and across the rest of the UK;
2. Key workers have put themselves on the frontline throughout the pandemic to keep society going;
3. The Covid-19 vaccination roll out has been going well across the UK and it is one of the key routes out of lockdown alongside having an effective track and trace programme;
4. [AREA] Council have been working hard to ensure the successful roll out of the Covid-19 vaccine across the borough, converting the town hall into a vaccination hub, providing free transport to vaccination appointments, and redeploying council staff to support the vaccination programme;

Council believes that:

1. High vaccination rates are essential to protecting everyone in our community and further afield, but vaccine hesitancy still exists among some people and the impact it may have on vaccination take-up is concerning;
2. An effective test, track and trace system is also essential in keeping our economy going and protecting lives, but so far in the pandemic the Government have not succeeded in making this system the most effective it can be;
3. Teachers, police and frontline key workers need to be prioritised for vaccinations after the most vulnerable cohorts in our community to protect people and ensure public services and the economy can stay open;

Council therefore resolves to:

1. Engage with the local community to understand and overcome vaccine hesitancy;
2. Call on the Government to provide funding for local authorities to fully operate track and trace schemes;
3. Call on government to require commissioners for vaccine delivery to provide flexible, local solutions to enable access, remove barriers and reduce inequalities;
4. Pledge our support for teachers, police and frontline key workers to be vaccinated as a matter of priority;
5. Ask the Mayor to write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to ask him to implement these policies regarding track and trace and vaccinations, and copy in the MP(s) for [Area] asking him to make representations in support of the Council’s position.