‘Strong start’ for covid vaccination programme
A drive to vaccinate Sunderland’s vulnerable residents and health staff against Covid-19 has got off to a “strong start,” according to city health bosses.
The programme has been delivered by a partnership made up of South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Sunderland Clinical Commissioning
Group (CCG) and Sunderland City Council, Primary Care Networks and Sunderland GP Alliance.
A total of six GP practiceled sites are now up and running to vaccinate patients and staff against the virus.
This includes Grindon Lane, Bunny Hill, Washington and Houghton’s Primary Care Centres, Riverview
Health Centre and Millfield Medical Centre.
“We’re moving at pace and delivering the vaccines as quickly as possible, “said Dr Fadi Khalil.
“[The centres] are fully staffed and are fully available to vaccinate the capacity that we have promised, subject to vaccine deliveries.”
Dr Khalil was speaking at
Sunderland’s CCG’s latest governing body meeting on Tuesday, during an update on the ‘Covid recovery vaccination programme’.
It comes as the Sunderland Echo and its sister titles run the Shot in the Arm campaign, calling on the Government to enlist pharmacies to help roll-out the vaccine.
The programme aims to vaccinate the first four eligible priority groups by mid-February which include: Residents in care homes for older adults and their carers; All those aged 80 and over and frontline health and social care workers; All those aged 75 and over; All those aged 70 and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals