Nearly half of adults in Norfolk & Waveney had first vaccine dose
That's according to latest figures
Almost half of adults in Norfolk and Waveney have now received their first dose of vaccine against COVID-19, newly released figures show.
According to data published today by NHS England and NHS Improvement 436,634 doses of vaccine had been given in Norfolk and Waveney. Some 419,439 people had received their first dose and 17,195 their second dose.
In the week to last Sunday (7 March), 38,608 doses of vaccine were given in Norfolk and Waveney (35,253 first doses and 3,355 second doses).
The figures show that 49% of adults in Norfolk and Waveney had received their first dose, compared to 42% of adults in England. This puts us sixth out of the 42 health and care systems in England.
The figures also show that:
97% of over 80s had received their first dose of vaccine
100% of over 75-79 year olds had received their first dose of vaccine
96% of over 70-74 year olds had received their first dose of vaccine
88% of over 65-69 year olds have received their first dose of vaccine
66% of over 60-64 year olds have received their first dose of vaccine
The figures show a drop in the total number of vaccines given compared to the previous week; this is due to vaccine supply, with some of that reduced supply being used for second doses. However, vaccine supply is expected to increase significantly from next week, with further acceleration as we head towards Easter.
Melanie Craig, Chief Executive of NHS Norfolk and Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said:
"Today marks exactly one year to the day since the World Health Organisation declared a pandemic, so this is a truly incredible achievement. Thank you to our fantastic NHS staff and volunteers who have worked tirelessly to make this happen.
"We continue to go full steam ahead with the vaccination programme in Norfolk and Waveney, but we won't rest until we have offered vaccinations to everyone who is eligible.
"Take-up of the vaccine has been strong, but we want to ensure that nobody is left behind. We are now looking at ways of getting to vulnerable groups and communities who are harder to reach, ensuring that everyone has equitable access to these vaccines.
"We strongly encourage everyone who is eligible in Norfolk and Waveney to take up the offer of vaccination. The more people that are protected against COVID-19 the more lives we will save and we can begin to return to a more normal way of life. If you have already been offered a jab but have not taken it up it is not too late. Please come forward and get booked in."
GP practices in Norfolk and Waveney continue to work incredibly hard to vaccinate priority groups and are currently focusing on cohort 6, those aged 16-64 with underlying health conditions. If you are in this group, please do not contact your GP directly, they will contact you as soon as it's your turn.
Patients in cohort 5, those aged 65-69 years old, cohort 7, those aged 60-64, and cohort 8, those aged 55-59 who have received a letter inviting them to book a vaccine appointment should do so through the national website www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination or call 119 if you can't use the internet.
GP practices will also be vaccinating these groups, so anyone who doesn't want to or can't make it to one of these centres can still choose to wait to be contact by their local GP practice. Please do not contact your local GP practice or hospital; please wait to be invited.
In the coming weeks, further options will be added for patients to choose as to where they receive their vaccination. This includes the addition of more pharmacy led vaccination sites, mobile vaccination clinics and a potential drive through option which is being explored.
Appointments are also available at a number of large scale vaccination centres in Norfolk and Waveney. Appointments for large scale vaccination centres are released in line with vaccine supply, so some sites will come and go, depending on when the patient accesses the system, so the local NHS is urging those who are eligible for an appointment to be patient and keep checking.