MP praises work of Northumberland vaccine hubs in 'race against the virus'

Anne-Marie Trevelyan visited the Berwick vaccination hub last week and was impressed with the pace at which vaccines are being delivered to those who need them most.

Retired doctor, James Mitchell, 96, was the first to receive his jab at the Well Close surgery.

She said: “It was an honour to be invited to see the efforts in Berwick for myself, and thank the teams working long hours to vaccinate the most vulnerable in our communities.

"I have received great feedback from constituents on how well-organised the operation is.

"The sooner we can ensure everyone who is most at risk receives their vaccine, the sooner we can ensure our children can return to school safely, and we can begin to ease restrictions.

“The approval of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine which is much easier to store and transport will mean a much faster roll-out, especially in care homes and for those less able to travel.”

The Coquet Medical Group in Amble announced it is moving on to the over 75s after a successful roll out of vaccines to the over 80s.

GP surgeries are reminding patients to wait to be contacted rather than getting in touch with the surgery themselves.

Ms Trevelyan has also spoken of the need for a national lockdown.

“Here in Northumberland, case numbers are rising fast, which is already placing extra pressure on our NHS services,” she told constituents in a newsletter.

"We need to ensure the NHS can be there for all of us who need it, and can continue to vaccinate the most vulnerable so we can reduce the death rate and begin to lift these restrictions.

"I know how tough this is for everyone, especially for parents with young children at home.

"We are in a race against this virus, one we need to win. The faster we do that, the faster we can ease these restrictions and get back to normal.

"I do understand how tough this pandemic has been on everyone,” she added. “This is the final stretch as we work together to ensure we can vaccinate as many people as possible.”

The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers and consequently the advertising that we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news by buying a copy of our newspaper. If you can, please do pick up a copy when you are at the shops. Thank you for your support.