The NHS is to provide GPs an extra £10 for every care home
resident they are able to vaccinate against Covid by the end of
January in an accelerated drive to protect the most vulnerable.
The NHS vaccination programme, the biggest in health
service history, is being expanded after regulators approved the
Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine yesterday.
More than three quarters of a million people were
vaccinated in under three weeks from the start of the programme,
new figures revealed today.
A total of 786,000 people received a Covid jab between the
NHS delivering the world’s first vaccination outside of a
clinical trial on December 8 and last Sunday.
Around two thirds, some 524,439, were delivered to people
aged 80 and over who are particularly vulnerable to the virus,
meaning that around one in five people of that age are already
protected.
The number of vaccination sites are coming on line all the
time with more than 700, a mixture of GP-run centres and hospital
hubs, now delivering jabs across the country.
The logistical challenges of using the Pfizer vaccine,
which was the first to be approved by regulators, make it
difficult to use in care homes.
The vaccine needs to be kept at -70 degrees until it is
ready to be used and can only be moved a limited number of
times.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca jab can be kept at fridge
temperature and transported more easily, making it easier to get
to care home residents.
As the regulators and the chief medical officers have now
specified more flexibility on timing of second doses, this also
means that more first doses of vaccines should be available for
the NHS in January than in December.
The £10 per jab additional funding for GPs to prioritise
them is expected to see the majority of care home residents
vaccinated by the end of January and all those who have not had
the jab are expected to have an appointment by then.
NHS staff are also being prioritised now that more vaccine
is coming on stream.
Dr Nikki Kanani, GP and NHS medical director for
primary care, said: “Three quarters of a million people
have now received the Pfizer vaccine thanks to the tireless
efforts of NHS staff who have given up time with their families
over Christmas to deliver vaccines at the same times as treating
record numbers of seriously-ill patients with Covid-19.
“As we head into the New Year with a second vaccine that is
also more versatile we will be able to expand the programme and
ensure that the majority of care home residents are protected
within the next four weeks or so."
“It is also great news that we will be able to begin
vaccinating NHS staff serving on the frontline to protect them
against coronavirus.”
NHS organisations have also been asked to start vaccinating
nurses, doctors and other staff immediately, as additional
supplies become available. Until now they were only being jabbed
if vaccine was going to be unused.
Priority groups for vaccination in this initial phase were
determined by Government following advice from the JCVI and were
people aged 80 and over as well as care home residents and
staff.
It is published here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-vaccinations/
