Nearly all care home residents in Devon have been vaccinated

ALMOST every care home resident in Devon is expected to have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by the middle of this week, as figures show 100,000 vaccines have been delivered in the county.

Across Devon, NHS figures show that, as of January 17, 98,234 vaccinations had been given, with that figure having risen further in recent days.

Nearly 12,000 of those vaccinated have had their second dose. Of those having had one dose, 39,880 of them are aged over 80, with 46,469 under 80, mainly in health and care professions.

Just over 50% of Devon’s over-80s had, as of last Sunday, had their first dose, with more than 13% having had the second dose as well, with the majority of care home residents having been vaccinated. It means 7.2% of Devon’s residents have had their first vaccination.

Dr Paul Johnson, clinical chair of the Devon Clinical Commissioning Group, told last Thursday’s Devon County Council Health and Wellbeing Board meeting that they were confident of hitting the target for the first four priority groups to have had the vaccine by mid-February and that all care home residents – except those who have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 28 days – will have had the vaccine by the middle of this week.

“We are on target for the ambition for the first four cohorts to have had their first dose by mid-February,” he said. “We are making good progress in the over-80s and some sites are even inviting the over-75s in the next cohort. We are well on the way and are getting into the care homes.”

He added: “It won’t be all care home residents as, those who have tested positive, we will hold off the vaccine until 28 days after their positive symptoms started, as per the guidance.”

Dr Johnson said that, at present, vaccinations were being carried out either at the four hospitals in the county, at 20 primary care sites, of which every GP practice in Devon is linked to one, and by vaccines being taken into care homes. He said that the near 100,000 vaccines given as of January 17 was the highest number of any of the areas in the South West, and that it had been “a good collaborative effort to get us to this stage”.

Asked when it would start to have an impact on the scale of the pandemic, Dr Johnson said that, at present, the vaccination programme is not targeted at getting community prevalence down but about reducing deaths and the strain on the health system. He said: “We are targeting those most likely to get ill and those caring for the most vulnerable and the effect is that we will see a reduction in hospital admissions and deaths related to Covid.

“It takes around ten to 14 days from the vaccine before you get some immunity and reduced likelihood of getting unwell, and, after the first four cohorts by mid-February are vaccinated, then we will see the most high risk having the immune status and then a significant impact on hospital activity and reduction in deaths.”

Welcoming the vaccine news, Torbay MP Kevin Foster said: “In the darker days of winter, this programme is providing the light at the end of the tunnel and the hope of our bay returning to normal when the blue skies of summer arrive.”

Totnes MP Anthony Mangnall added: ‘It is welcome news that so many vaccinations have already been administered across Devon and I would like thank each and every person who has played a part.”