NHS delivers 55,000 Covid jabs in six weeks across Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire's Covid-19 vaccine roll-out is being extended to over-75s.

NHS officials today revealed staff have already delivered jabs to 55,000 Northamptonshire folk in six weeks — an increase of 10,000 on the figure announced last Friday.

More than three-quarters of the over-80s age group have been vaccinated since the massive operation got under way nationwide on December 8, although most will only have so far received a first dose.

But Toby Sanders, the Northamptonshire NHS Clinical Commissioning Group Chief Executive, warned the only limit on the county's ability to keep giving jabs via its network of GP surgeries would be supplies of the vaccine.

Mr Sanders said: "We had delivered 55,000 vaccinations by close of play on Tuesday. That is a huge number and a testimony to the hard work of all the staff involved.

"We all know delivering this vaccine is the way through this for all of us, not just locally by nationally."

"Our focus has been on the over-80s and we have already vaccinated three-quarters of our over-80s population.

"We have also made significant progress in delivering vaccinations into care homes using mobile teams.

"As a result of all of that, we are starting to work down the cohorts and there will now be residents in our county in the 75-to-79 age group being contacted by their practices and invited in where appropriate.

"But please, please wait to be contacted by the NHS for your vaccination rather than call your doctors.

"We are working through the priority cohorts and some will be addressed at different speeds in different parts of the county just as a result of when some GP practices went live.

"We are well aware there will be some residents in villages with a neighbour, friend or relative who may have already had an invitation before you. But we will get to you.

The Government set a target of 135,000 people receiving at least the first dose of the vaccine by mid-February. That includes:

■ All residents in a care home for older adults and their carers.

■ All those 80 years of age and over and frontline health and social care workers.

■ All those 75 years of age and over.

■ All those 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals.

Mr Sanders told today's County Council Oversight and Engagement Board meeting: "We have the capacity to deliver this rollout. The limiting factor, as it is nationally, is vaccine supply.

"We've got the ability to deliver whatever comes through to us, so we are working with regional and national bodies to get as much vaccine supply into the county as we can."