NHS staff working round-the-clock to roll out booster jabs

‘HAVE TO PUT EVERYTHING ON TABLE’ TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE OVER 18 IS JABBED BY END OF MONTH

NHS bosses in Leicestershire say they are rushing to ensure all adults are vaccinated in the race against the spread of Covid’s Omicron variant.

GPs were given a short window to initiate plans for the emergency rollout of booster jabs for all over-18s by the end of the month, after Boris Johnson’s announcement last Sunday night.

They are now working round-theclock to expand the vaccination programme across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR).

“We are going to have to put everything on the table,” said Caroline Trevithick, deputy chief executive of the LLR clinical commissioning groups. A target to vaccinate the entire over-18 population in the UK by the end of December means around one million people will need to be jabbed each day.

Ms Trevithick said urgent plans are in place to meet the new requirement.

Nationally, it was reported some GPs were “in the dark” about the latest update.

Ms Trevithick said: “We were given a heads up that some changes were expected so we have been thinking about what we might have to do to extend the programme.

“The government has been opening more cohorts in recent weeks and it is quite complex but this announcement opens it all up.

“We’re going to have to put everything on the table and think about what we need to do.”

The CCGs have already set up numerous pop-up clinics as well as having sites at pharmacies, hospitals and community centres.

“We’ve done it before, just not on this scale or in such a short period of time,” she said.

This is why military support has been promised across every UK region. “We know that we will be getting a number of qualified vaccinators to bolster our workforce,” Ms Trevithick said.

But further support will be needed from volunteers. During the lockdown volunteers helped the local effort but as people have returned to work, fewer are now available.

Recently, the NHS launched a campaign to call on thousands more people to come forward.

Ms Trevithick added: “We will see if we can release vaccinators from less urgent areas of the NHS.”

With 75 per cent of county vaccines delivered by GPs, they are vital to the roll-out but, inevitably, as the PM said in his announcement, some services will be paused.

“We are, of course, concerned that people who need urgent care or serious ongoing care are not disadvantaged by this so we are trying to work through a plan to make sure people that need us can access primary care,” Ms Trevithick said.

While the plan is dependent on numerous factors, including the availability of staff and resources, Ms Trevithick said that it is also dependent on people coming forward.

“It’s a partnership,” she said. “The NHS is there to deliver it but people need to come forward.”