‘Covid vaccine will be given to Leicestershire patients very soon’

Margaret Keenan (90) was injected with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at the University Hospital in Coventry at around 6.30am this morning.

The government has announced a list of 50 health trusts in England which will now go live with the vaccination programme but Leicestershire and Rutland was not one of the areas mentioned.

The clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland have now moved to reassure patients that they would shortly get access to the vaccine, which it is hoped will eventually return the nation to something like normal life again.

The local CCGs said in a statement: “In line with the rest of the country we anticipate being in a position to start our local vaccination programme very soon.

“We have been carrying out extensive planning in readiness to begin vaccinating once we are given the go ahead.

“This will include a large vaccination centre, complemented by local vaccination services delivered by GP practices.”

The statement adds: “While we await the go-ahead we can assure people we will be vaccinating in line with the priority groups as set out for us by the government.

“The immediate priority groups are residents in a care home for older adults and their carers, all those 80 years of age and over and frontline health and social care workers.

“Full information will be provided as quickly as possible and those eligible for the vaccine will be contacted directly and invited to attend an appointment when they become eligible.”

It is understood that discussions have taken place on setting up a Covid-19 vaccination centre in Melton but a venue has yet to be confirmed.

There have been 1,235 reported cases of coronavirus in the Melton borough since the pandemic began and 48 people in the borough have passed away after testing positive.

There were 97 cases in the week to December 3, an increase of 14 on the week before.

The infection rate for Melton is 189 cases per 100,000 of the poulation, compared to the England average of 126.