Covid related

Summary

A request was made to Manx Care for specific data on vaccination status of active cases, hospital admissions, and deaths, as well as technical details on virus purification and test swab sterilization. The authority partially refused the request, citing practical refusal reasons for data that would require new programming, lack of information held for sterilization chemicals, and public availability for general vaccine questions.

Key Facts

• Manx Care does not purify SARS-CoV-2 virus samples on the Isle of Man.
• Information regarding vaccination status of specific patients requires creating new programs to derive data from medical records.
• General information on whether vaccinated individuals can catch COVID is available on the government website.
• PCR nasal buds are not manufactured on the island and are sterilized prior to delivery.
• The request was received on 20 July 2021 and the response was issued on 16 August 2021.

Data Disclosed

• 1104 active cases
• 20th July 2021
• 3 hospital admissions
• 4 deaths
• 16th August 2021
• 1915369

Exemptions Cited

• Section 8(3)(b) / Section 11(3)(b) - Practical refusal reason (creating or deriving information)
• Section 20 - Information already reasonably accessible
• Section 11(3)(a) - Information not held or cannot be found after reasonable steps

Original Request

Please provide under the foi act how many people out of the 1104 active cases, as of 20th july 2021 have received a vaccine against sars cov2? Can You still catch covid if you have been vaccinated? Have the 3 hospital admissions as of 20th july 2021 receieved any sars cov 2 vaccine? Of the 4 deaths as of 20th july 2021 did they have any underlying health issues? Have you a purified sample of the sars cov 2 virus via maceration, filtration or a use of a ultracentrifuge by anyone on the Isle of man? What date was this sample taken? What chemical do they use to sterilise the pcr nasal buds with?

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Manx Care Noble’s Hospital, Strang Braddan, Isle of Man IM4 4R (01624) 650 000

Our ref: 1915369 16th August 2021

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 20th July 2021 and which states:

"Please provide under the FOI Act 1. how many people out of the 1104 active cases, as of 20th July 2021 have received a
vaccine against sars cov2? 2. Can you still catch covid if you have been vaccinated? 3. Have the 3 hospital admissions as of 20th July 2021 received any sars cov 2 vaccines? 4. Of the 4 deaths as of 20th July 2021 did they have any underlying health issues? 5. Have you a purified sample of the sars cov 2 virus via maceration, filtration or a use of an ultracentrifuge by anyone on the Isle of man? And what date was this sample taken? 6. What chemical do they use to sterilise the pcr nasal buds with?" Our Response

1. How many people out of the 1104 active cases, as of 20th July 2021 have received a
vaccine against sars cov2? While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, we cannot in this case as a “practical refusal reason” applies: complying with this request for information would require the public authority to do one or more of the matters mentioned in section 8(3)(b) (things a public authority is not required to do by the Act S11(3)(b), in this instance, it would require us to create or derive information from information that we hold: vaccination information is held in a patient’s medical record and in order to provide the information you requested we would have to generate a new program to derive this. 2. Can you still catch covid if you have been vaccinated? While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under section 20 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you, whether free of charge or on payment of a fee. Vaccination and Covid information can be found on the government website and in particular, what- to-expect-after-your-vaccine. Please see Appendix 1 for further details.

3. Have the 3 hospital admissions as of 20th July 2021 received any sars cov 2 vaccines? While our aim is to provide information whenever possible , we cannot in this case as a “practical refusal reason” applies: complying with this request for information would require the public authority to do one or more of the matters mentioned in section 8(3)(b) (things a public authority is not required to do by the Act S11(3)(b), in this instance, it would require us to create or derive information from information that we hold: vaccination information is held in a patient’s medical record and in order to provide the information you requested we would have to generate a new program to derive this. 4. Of the 4 deaths as of 20th July 2021 did they have any underlying health issues? While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Manx Care is unable to provide the information that you have requested. This is in line with Section 11(3)(b) of the Act, in this instance, it would require us to create or derive information from information that we hold: we would have to generate a new program to derive any pre-existing co-morbidities that the patient may have had. 5. Have you a purified sample of the sars cov 2 virus via maceration, filtration or a use of We do not purify the virus on the IOM. 6. What chemical do they use to sterilise the pcr nasal buds with? While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Manx Care is unable to provide the information that you have requested. This is in line with Section 11(3)(a) of the Act, as a practical refusal reason applies; namely we do not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find the information that you have requested: the nasal buds are not manufactured on the island and will have gone through a sterilisation process prior to Manx Care receiving them. Please quote the reference number 1915369 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.