Outrage at jabs taken from North for South
ANGRY leaders in the North say they are being “penalised for being the best” after overseeing the fastest vaccine roll-out operation in the country.
Supplies to Yorkshire and the Northeast will be cut from next week as the Government sends vaccines to southern regions that are lagging behind.
Dr Nikki Kanani, medical director of Primary Care for NHS England, confirmed the “targeted” approach.
One practice in Sheffield, which administers 700 injections a day, says they were told they will receive just 400 doses for the whole of next week.
Two days ago Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi insisted no vaccine would be taken away from Yorkshire and given to other regions.
But at a tense meeting yesterday officials were told this was no longer the case. Some Tory MPs were said to be “livid”.A source said: “They are furious that they have to explain to their constituents why GPs are unable to deliver jabs as expected. They expect public anger to be huge.”
Labour’s Clive Betts, MP for Sheffield South East, said: “By choosing to divert vaccines away from Yorkshire they’re accepting that there will be avoidable deaths in the region as a result.”
NHS figures show that Yorkshire and the North-east have given 64 per cent of over-80s their first vaccine dose, compared with 48 per cent in London and 13.1 per cent in Scotland.
Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis said: “Our NHS and primary care staff are working hard to protect and vaccinate our communities. They must not be punished for their success.”
Fabian Hamilton, Labour MP for Leeds North East, said: “Our wonderful doctors, nurses and pharmacists, bolstered by thousands of dedicated volunteers, have done an excellent job and it would be shameful to slow them down now.”
Newcastle City Council’s Labour leader Nick Forbes branded it “an outrage”, while his Gateshead counterpart Martin Gannon said: “We have, clearly, the very best public health network in the entire country.
“I would be furious if we are being penalised for being the best.”
The leaders of West Yorkshire councils said in a joint statement: “If some parts of the country are progressing at a slower rate, the answer should be to support those areas, not to penalise those that are delivering faster.”
A Government spokesman said: “Supply is the limiting factor and, as the public would expect, we’re prioritising those most at risk from this disease across the country. Our approach so far has ensured we have vaccinated more people than every country in Europe combined.”