Health experts in and around Staffordshire and Cheshire call for changes in covid vaccine priorities

There are calls for people like shop workers and taxi drivers in and around Staffordshire and Cheshire to be NEXT in line for a Covid vaccine, now that many businesses are back open.

At the moment, the government's prioritising people by age, but now that all the most vulnerable have been offered a vaccine, there's a push for there to be a change in direction.

Former North West Public Health Director John Ashton said jabs need to be used more efficiently: "We should be using the vaccine to vaccinate all those people who interface with the public; taxi drivers, drivers, check out operators in the supermarkets, teachers and other public service workers.

"We should be vaccinating them now with the vaccine rather than vaccinating healthy people who maybe only go out once or twice a week. We should be vaccinating the people whose job it is to be out there every day mixing with other people."

Mr Ashton said: "I think what we need to be doing as the number of deaths now is currently very low, is we need to switch attention and use the vaccine to prevent the spread of the virus during these summer months.

"What they should be doing, is allowing the public health teams to use their discretion and their knowledge to use the vaccines where they will be most effective in stopping the virus from circulating."

• Staffordshire
• Cheshire
• North West
• coronavirus
• Vaccine
• covid