Drive to get whole town vaccinated
Aftershocks of outbreak as pub slams council and 2,000 get Covid test. P2-3
ALL adults in Leek are now being offered the Covid-19 vaccine as part of efforts to tackle an Indian variant outbreak.
Everyone aged 18 and above in the town’s ST13 postcode area is being invited to get a jab at the pop-up clinic at Leek Moorlands Hospital.
It will be in operation until June 16 with daytime and evening slots still available to book.
The first dose vaccines are also being offered to people with children attending Leek schools, or people who work at a Leek school, with 600 slots available each day.
It comes as it emerged yesterday that five people at Westwood First School in Leek have now tested positive for coronavirus with two suspected to be a ‘variant of concern.’
Leek’s covid outbreak has seen more than 40 confirmed cases of the Indian variant, centred on three other schools in the town and two pubs in villages near Leek.
The Indian, or Delta variant’s higher transmissibility means a greater proportion of the population needs to be vaccinated in order to prevent new outbreaks through herd immunity.
Dr Richard Harling, Staffordshire County Council’s Director for Health and Care said yesterday: “Cases of the Variant of Concern are still rising and this vaccine pop-up is a unique opportunity for young adults in Leek to reduce the risk by getting vaccinated.
“We have been working hard with partners in the NHS to contain the outbreak in Leek and explore ways to protect residents, and it is important that people come forward to take a PCR test and take up the vaccine offer as soon as possible.”
NHS officials had earlier in the week givene members of Staffordshire County Council’s health and care overview and scrutiny committee an update on the vaccination programme.
Dr Paddy Hannigan, clinical lead for the vaccination programme in Staffordshire, said: “We’re extending the vaccination in Leek to include everybody over the age of 18, so down to cohort 12. We’re hearing that this will be the national view, probably this week. But we’ve responded early and we have the capacity, meaning we can offer the vaccine to the whole of cohort 12 in Leek and those at the affected schools.
“We have sufficient capacity and vaccines to offer this without stopping or reducing any other elements in our programme.”
Committee members were told that a local booking system had to be set up, due to the national system still only allowing over-30s to arrange an appointment.
Dr Hannigan added: “We’re asking people to bring proof of residency, or proof of association with a school, when they come in”
The committee was told that 1.2 million doses of the vaccine had so far been delivered across Stoke-ontrent and Staffordshire, up to June 3, including 703,723 first doses and 498,44 second doses.
Anyone eligible for a vaccine at the Leek Moorlands Hospital pop-up clinic can book an appointment at www.eventbrite.co.uk or call 01785 898844.
Leek residents (ST13 postcode) should bring proof of identity showing address.
People who work at a Leek school or have children attending a school in Leek but live outside of the town should bring evidence of their connection (proof of employment or registered pupil).
Everyone else should still book their vaccine appointment via the national booking system.