Vaccinations up and running
JABS OPERATION IS WORKING WELL
MORE than 40 people an hour are now getting their coronavirus jabs at one of Leicestershire’s new community vaccination centres.
The ground floor of part of Charnwood Borough Council’s offices in Loughborough has been converted to its new use and began administering doses of the Pfizer vaccine on Monday morning.
On day one there were 80 people vaccinated, on day two that jumped to more than 300.
And by the end of yesterday the doctors running the centre said they expected more than 800 people to have been treated in total, with their first of two injections to immunise them from Covid-19.
The Mercury was invited to the centre yesterday to observe the process as patients from 21 GP surgeries across the north of the county were vaccinated.
The process, from start to finish, takes no more than half-an-hour.
When patients arrive for their appointment their temperature is taken, they are asked if they have any serious allergies, if they are pregnant or taking part in a vaccine trial.
Then, after a short wait, they are asked to roll their sleeves up to receive a 0.3ml dose – about one-fifteenth of a teaspoon – into their chosen arm. The longest part of the process is a 15-minute observation period where people stay in a socially distanced waiting area.
Dr Rebecca Dempsey, who is overseeing the operation, said: “It’s great to be up and running. A lot of hard work and planning has gone into getting us here and I’m really pleased that the people we are having through are enthusiastic about getting the jab.
“We’ve had a few raised eyebrows when we’ve been asking people if they are pregnant because most of them are over 80, but it’s all going well!
“In some cases we are welcoming some people who, because they are older, have not been out of their homes for months and it feels like a bit of an adventure for them.”
The Loughborough centre is being run by a dozen NHS clinical staff and eight volunteer marshals who guide patients through the various stages of being vaccinated.
John and Delia Bennett, aged 84 and 80, got their jabs yesterday.
The Shepshed couple said they were surprised but pleased with how quickly they got their appointments.
Delia said: “It’s all been very efficient, no trouble at all. We’ve already got a date for our second doses. I’m just really pleased we got in before Christmas. We haven’t been going out much, so this has all been a bit of a strange experience, but a good one.”
The over-80s and care home workers are in the first group of people getting the vaccine, but it will be rolled out through the population and NHS bosses have said all will be contacted when their turn comes.
Two other community vaccine centres have opened in Leicestershire this week – one at Melton Sports Village and another at the race course in Oadby.
A fourth has opened at the Rutland County Council office in Oakham.
A further 31 coronavirus-related deaths have been confirmed at Leicester’s hospitals in the past week.
The numbers include those who have died at either the Leicester Royal Infirmary, Glenfield Hospital and General Hospital after testing positive. The fatalities, announced yesterday, include a person in their 40s. The oldest was in their 90s.
It takes the death toll on city hospital wards after a Covid diagnosis up to 704 patients.