Vulnerable crying out for vaccine deliveries
THOUSANDS of vulnerable patients are at the mercy of a Covid vaccine postcode lottery, a respected GP has warned.
Dr Rosemary Leonard criticised a “completely chaotic” roll- out that has seen her list of 35,000 patients repeatedly denied access to the vaccine.
The senior medic, and Daily Express columnist, who heads up three busy surgeries in southeast London, was first promised delivery of the Pfizer/ BioNTech jab on December 28.
She was then told it would arrive on Monday, January 4. No vaccine was delivered and the date was pushed back until January 11. She has now been told to expect it either next Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.
Despite her network of surgeries looking after many elderly and clinically vulnerable patients, they have not received a single dose.
Dr Leonard said: “I feel we are the victims of an unexplained and unfair postcode lottery. It was always going to be the case some practices were going to get the vaccine ahead of others – I completely understand that – but it is just so unfair on our patients.
“And I just don’t know why. I presume there are central supply issues. All we need is a decent explanation.”
Dr Leonard spoke out as record numbers of Covid deaths and cases were reported yesterday. Official figures showed 62,322 new infections across the UK – up from the previous record of 60,916 the day before – while 1,041 people died within 28 days of testing positive. This is the highest number since April 21.
Dr Leonard went public with her frustration on Twitter, describing it as a cry from the front line. She wrote: “We are raring to go, but have no vaccines. Why?”
Professor Martin Marshall, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said: “We need to be delivering upwards of two million vaccinations a week... but we need a reliable supply of vaccines, and a sufficient workforce to do so.”
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of Council at the British Medical Association, said: “There are almost 27,000 patients with Covid- 19 being treated in hospitals in England. Hospitals are becoming like war zones.”
Seven mass vaccination centres will open next week in Stevenage, London, Newcastle, Manchester, Epsom in Surrey, Bristol and Birmingham.