NHS in North East must double booster jabs to hit end of year target

The North East will need to double the number of vaccines being delivered each day in order to meet the target of giving every eligible adult a Covid-19 booster jab by the end of the year.
The North East will need to double the number of vaccines being delivered each day in order to meet the target of giving every eligible adult a Covid-19 booster jab by the end of the year.The North East will need to double the number of vaccines being delivered each day in order to meet the target of giving every eligible adult a Covid-19 booster jab by the end of the year.
The North East will need to double the number of vaccines being delivered each day in order to meet the target of giving every eligible adult a Covid-19 booster jab by the end of the year.

Boris Johnson announced a massive acceleration of the booster programme on Sunday, in a bid to combat the Omicron variant.

Over-30s in England who had their second dose of a vaccine at least three months ago can now book a booster online and, from Wednesday, this will be extended to over-18s – as the government targets getting a booster to every adult who wants one by the end of 2021.

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The move has sparked major concerns at how stretched NHS staff can deliver on that pledge, with long queues outside vaccination centres already seen and problems with the online booking system.

North East health chiefs are urging people to book a vaccine appointment online as soon as possible, rather than turn up to walk-in clinics, and not to clog up GP surgery phone lines with booster questions.

Opening hours for vaccine centres will be extended and extra mobile and pop-up clinics will also be rolled out to boost capacity by 50% this week and by 100% soon after.

Latest NHS England figures suggest there are around 2.5m people in the North East and Yorkshire who had a second dose at least three months ago and are now eligible for a booster.

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While some new walk-in facilities may be offered here at a “very localised” level, NHS chiefs have urged people to book their booster appointment either online or once contacted directly by their GP.

In the most recent four days of recorded booster vaccine numbers, an average of 61,523 third doses were administered per day across the region. The target is around 133,000 per day.

Professor Neil Watson, who is leading the region’s Covid-19 vaccination programme, said: “The ambitious plan to speed up the offer of the booster will depend on everyone working together to support the programme.

“In particular this means we are asking people to be patient and not to call their GPs about the booster – they won’t be able to answer your queries.

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“It will take time to offer the vaccine to everyone who becomes eligible and we will be working as hard as we can with the resources we have to vaccinate as many people as quickly as we can.”

Liz Morgan, Northumberland’s director of public health and lead director for the Covid-19 vaccination programme, added: “NHS staff with the help of lots of partners were already working incredibly hard to deliver covid vaccines as swiftly as possible but the threat posed by Omicron is grave.

“Scientists are very concerned about the spread of Omicron due to the speed with which it spreads.

“We know that two doses don’t provide as much protection as we would like, but thankfully, a booster dramatically improves this.

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“That’s why the Government have asked the NHS to prioritise boosters over other routine care.”

“For people who have not yet had a vaccine please don’t forget that it is never too late to get protected and you can take advantage of all the extra appointments that are being made available.”