First shots fired in war on coronavirus
Slough: V-Day sees Wexham Park Hospital begin vaccinating
COVID-19 vaccinations began taking place at Wexham Park Hospital this week.
The hospital in Slough was one of 50 hospital hubs in the UK that started vaccinating coronavirus patients on Tuesday, dubbed as ‘V-Day’.
People aged 80 or over, care home workers and NHS staff who are at a higher risk will be among the first people to receive the vaccine, developed by Pfizer/BioNTech.
Patients aged 80 and above who are already attending hospital as an outpatient, and those who are being discharged after a hospital stay, will also be among the very first to receive the vaccine.
The hospital will begin inviting over-80s in for a jab and work with care home
providers to book their staff into vaccination clinics.
Any appointments not used for these groups will be used for healthcare workers who are at the highest risk of serious illness from COVID-19.
All those vaccinated will need a booster jab 21 days later.
GPs and other primary care staff are also being put on standby to start delivering the jab. A small number of GP-led primary care networks will begin doing so during the week beginning December 14, with more practices in other parts of the country joining in on a phased basis during December and in the coming months.
The East Berkshire Clinical Commissioning Group intends to run vaccination centres in Windsor and Maidenhead.
While it is not clear where or when these will open, there is a chance they will be operational before Christmas (see p4).
Professor Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: “Despite the huge complexities, hospitals will kickstart the first phase of the largest scale vaccination campaign in our country’s history.
“The NHS has a strong record of delivering large scale vaccination programmes – from the flu jab, HPV vaccine and lifesaving MMR jabs – hardworking staff will once again rise to the challenge to
protect the most vulnerable people from this awful disease.”
Meanwhile, at Bray's
Thames Hospice, in Windsor Road, registered nurses on the staff, including Lisa Church, director of nursing and family services, have received training in supporting the vaccine roll-out in the area.
Lisa said: “I feel so proud
and privileged to be part of this massive recovery programme to save lives and help get the country back on its feet.
“It has been a long year full of sadness, loss and loneliness for many, but as the first patient was vaccinated on Tuesday, I felt a sudden relief and excitement that we are now, at last, on the way up.”