Staff at Melton GP surgery prepare for Covid vaccine roll-out

Latham House Medical Practice expects to play a key role in the campaign as soon as one of the promising new vaccines is officially authorised.

News this week that a vaccine formulated by scientists at Oxford University protected 70 per cent of people from coronavirus in trials, and could potentially shield up to 90 per cent with an amended dose, has raised hopes that life may soon be able to return to normal.

It came on the back of other recent test results for vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna which show a 95 per cent protection rate.

UK health officials have suggested this week that a mass vaccination programme - starting with the most vulnerable people and frontline medical workers - could begin as early as next month.

And Latham House executive manager, Kate Hunter, said staff at the Sage Cross Street practice would be ready to play their part.

She told the Melton Times: “At this stage we have registered our proposals for our role and that of our Primary Care Network, in the vaccine delivery locally and we await further information.

“Staffing will be an essential part of making this happen and we are speaking to all staff to understand what resources we may be able to call upon at this stage.

“How we deliver the vaccination programme could evolve as the vaccines available to us develop too.”

She added: “Although cohort prioritisation is yet to be finalised, a draft prioritisation has been set out and it is believed that general practice will have a particularly important role to play in contributing to administering vaccinations to the most ‘at risk’ patients in our community.”

Ms Hunter said a local vaccination centre would be required where patients can be given the jab, with people likely to be given two doses, several weeks apart.

Given the uncertainty over whether, and when, a vaccine may be approved, Latham House and other primary care providers are planning to be ready from mid-December with mass vaccinations more likely in the new year.

Dr Fahreen Dhanji, a GP partner at the Melton practice, highlighted the scale of the task ahead.

She told the Melton Times: “There is no question that this will be a significant workload on top of an already challenging year.

“Primary care staff across the UK have worked solidly since the start of this pandemic, giving up weekends and bank holidays in order to meet the health needs of our communities whilst experiencing this difficult time personally themselves.

“I believe the speed at which the scientific community have managed to develop an effective vaccine is simply outstanding and now it’s the turn of

primary care to play our part in protecting people.”

There have been more than 1,000 Covid cases across the Melton borough since the pandemic begun and 34 people have sadly died following a positive test.

Latest government figures show there were 147 new cases reported in the borough in the week to Friday, which is actually 69 fewer than the week before.

The area west of Melton has been highlighted as one of Leicestershire’s top 10 coronavirus hotspots, however, with 98 people testing positive from thee for the fortnight between November 1 and 14, according to county council data.

Melton borough’s infection rate of 287 cases per 100,000 of the population will be taken into consideration when a decision is taken on which of the three restriction tiers the areas is placed into when England’s second national lockdown ends on December 2.