Wakefield to get first Covid vaccinations next week

The first Covid vaccine will be administered in Wakefield from next week.
NHS England started the vaccine rollout on Tuesday.NHS England started the vaccine rollout on Tuesday.
NHS England started the vaccine rollout on Tuesday.

The district's oldest and most vulnerable people, along with frontline healthcare workers, will be first in the queue to receive the jab.

A 90 year-old woman from Coventry became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer vaccine, which has been deemed safe by the regulator, on Tuesday morning.

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The NHS will make direct contact with individuals when it is their turn to be vaccinated.

Frontline healthcare staff are among the first people in line to be immunised.Frontline healthcare staff are among the first people in line to be immunised.
Frontline healthcare staff are among the first people in line to be immunised.

It is thought that locally the vaccine will initially be delivered at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, though NHS England have not confirmed whether or not that's the case, or when exactly the first people will be immunised.

Hospitals in other parts of the UK have been responsible for administering the vaccine, as they are better equipped to meet the logistical challenges of having to store the substance at temperatures of minus 70 degrees.

Local GP surgeries are likely to become more directly involved as further waves of the jab are rolled out.

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Wakefield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) confirmed today (Tuesday) at the vaccine will come to the district next week.

Speaking at a board meeting Chief operating officer Jo Webster said: "We are very much in a position in Wakefield next week to start making sure our vulnerable populations and our staff get access to this vaccine.

"We're developing plans and putting in place the arrangements we need to make sure the whole system is ready for the opportunity this gives us.

"This is despite the challenge we're still going to have because Covid infections aren't going to go away and it will have a significant impact on our workforce.

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"But we'll strive on and make sure we get through as many vaccines that are available."

On Monday, it was revealed that the Covid infection rate had fallen in Wakefield for the fourth week running. The latest data available suggests it now stands at around 172 people per 100,000.

Local Democracy Reporting Service