Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to take part in first wave of COVID-19 vaccination programme

People aged 80 and over as well as care home workers will be first to receive the jab, along with NHS workers who are at higher risk.

NHS staff worked through the weekend to prepare for the launch of the programme with the first vaccinations happening from Tuesday.

There are 50 hubs in the first wave and more hospitals will start vaccinating over the coming weeks and months as the programme ramps up.

Patients aged 80 and above who are already attending hospital as an outpatient, and those who are being discharged home after a hospital stay, will be among the first to receive the life-saving jab.

Hospitals will also begin inviting over 80s in for a jab and work with care home providers to book their staff in to vaccination clinics.

GPs and other primary care staff are also being put on standby to start delivering the jab. A small number of GP-led primary care networks will begin doing so during the following week (week beginning 14 December) with more practices in more parts of the country joining in on a phased basis during December and in the coming months.

Vaccination centres treating large numbers of patients in sporting venues and conference centres will subsequently stand up when further supplies of vaccine come on stream.

Arne Rose, Medical Director at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said: “We welcome the news that The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital has been selected to be one of the first ‘hospital hubs’ in the country for the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

“We’re working as a joined-up local health and care partnership including the NHS, local government organisations, independent organisations and voluntary sector groups to ensure that we prioritise those at highest risk for the vaccination, as outlined by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JVCI).

“We would like to remind people that they should not come to the hospital for a vaccine and the NHS will contact people to arrange an appointment to attend. This will be a rolling programme and further site will be added in the coming months. In the meantime I’d like to urge everyone to be patient, remain vigilant and follow your local COVID-19 restrictions.

Largest vaccination campaign in country’s history

Professor Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: “Despite the huge complexities, hospitals will kickstart the first phase of the largest scale vaccination campaign in our country’s history from Tuesday.  The first tranche of vaccine deliveries will be landing at hospitals by Monday in readiness.

“The NHS has a strong record of delivering large scale vaccination programmes – from the flu jab, HPV vaccine and lifesaving MMR jabs – hardworking staff will once again rise to the challenge to protect the most vulnerable people from this awful disease.”

Prioritising the most vulnerable

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “This coming week will be an historic moment as we begin vaccination against COVID-19.

“We are prioritising the most vulnerable first and over-80s, care home staff and NHS colleagues will all be among the first to receive the vaccines.

“We are doing everything we can to make sure we can overcome significant challenges to vaccinate care home residents as soon as possible too.

“I urge everybody to play their part to suppress this virus and follow the local restrictions to protect the NHS while they carry out this crucial work.”