New COVID-19 Vaccine Champions to drive vaccination take-up in Southampton

Newly recruited Vaccine Champions will soon be targeting areas of Southampton that have the lowest vaccine uptake rates, providing support, overcoming barriers and addressing misinformation to help save lives in the battle against COVID-19

Newly recruited Vaccine Champions will soon be targeting areas of Southampton that have the lowest vaccine uptake rates, providing support, overcoming barriers and addressing misinformation to help save lives in the battle against COVID-19.

The initiative will be funded through a grant of £485k, which Southampton City Council has been awarded by central government to fund the new Vaccine Champions scheme. These Champions will be an invaluable resource for the city in helping to improve vaccination levels, particularly in areas where more support is required. This new programme will complement our existing COVID-19 Community Champions who have been key in helping the city with our response to the pandemic.

The Vaccine Champions programme will comprise of a structure of Team Leaders recruited from partner organisations across the city. These Team Leaders will each have a group of volunteers who will help to educate and inform residents about the benefits of having a vaccination, advise the location of the nearest vaccination centre and discuss more general COVID-19 information.

As a vibrant and diverse city, we are proud of the broad range of religions, cultures and languages that make Southampton the place it is today. The Vaccine Champions, volunteers and their networks will assist in helping every resident get the vital protection that the jabs provide.

Director for Public Health, Debbie Chase, said:

“I’m thrilled that Southampton has been awarded this funding. There are so many messages about the COVID-19 vaccination on social media that simply aren’t true and it’s causing great harm. This will provide us with an opportunity to address those anti-vaxx messages and ensure that our residents get all the information they need to stay safe from this virus and help save lives.”

Cabinet Member for Health & Adult Social Care, Councillor Ivan White, said:

“This funding comes at the perfect time for Southampton. It’s fantastic that so many of our residents have already been fully vaccinated against the virus, but we still have work to do. This programme is going to help us to reach more people, answer their questions and encourage more of our residents to get vaccinated.”

For further information on Community Vaccine Champions see National effort to vaccinate vulnerable communities receives funding boost on GOV.UK.