Susie Little set up the Facebook group Covid Co-Operation, Harrogate, as the first lockdown began, and has spent the year co-ordinating community support in all sorts of ways. She tells the Stray Ferret about the insight that has given her into the realities of people’s lives.

I was asked the other day what have I missed the most since the start of the pandemic and, without question, it’s hugs.

Not just hugs from the people I love, but the ability to hug all the amazing, kind and generous people I’ve met this year through the Facebook group, Covid Co-Operation, Harrogate, which I started in March, just before the first lockdown started.

If someone had told us before Christmas last year what December 2020 would look like, I don’t think anyone would’ve believed such a year could actually happen.

When creating the group, I thought we might end up with 100 or so people who wanted to help, and seeing it turn into a group with nearly 11k members at its peak, has been quite an experience. The wonderful group admin team and members have helped hundreds, maybe thousands, of Harrogate people over the last 10 months, with everything from shopping to buddy phone calls to furnishing new homes for homeless people who have nothing.

We raised over £11,000 for six very local charities during the first lockdown, and nearly £2,500 for Christmas presents for disadvantaged children during the second. Over and over again, people have stepped up and given their time and money to solve the problems and needs of others without hesitation.

The arrival of the vaccine has given Susie Little hope for the future

News of the vaccine approval earlier this month has had a profound effect, certainly for me, on mental health going into the new year.

2020 has been so difficult mentally for everyone, irrespective of financial status or domestic set-up. Those who live alone crave company; those who don’t crave solitude! Already vulnerable families have become more so, families doing OK previously have dropped into the vulnerable category without warning, and domestic abuse has seen a truly horrific increase.

The vaccine, with enough take-up, gives us freedom to improve living conditions for the most vulnerable in our area. It gives hope and light; a belief that one day soon this will be behind us.

Personally, 2020 has given me an insight into just how difficult everyday life is for so many people, and it has been a privilege to play a small part in alleviating some of that hardship during a year which every single one of us fervently hopes never ever happens again.

Read more:

• Harrogate Covid Co-Operation raises money for Xmas gifts for kids
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The future of next year’s Great Yorkshire Show is uncertain as the Harrogate venue that hosts the event begins a huge mass vaccination project.

The NHS began the programme on Tuesday at the showground. It is expected to last several months, which raises questions about the viability of the 2021 show, which is provisionally scheduled for July 13 to 15.

Heather Parry, managing director at Yorkshire Event Centre, told the Stray Ferret is is “looking at all the options at the moment” for the 2021 event.

Ms Parry said:

“It’s a changing picture. It’s obviously a big event with lots of people so whether we do it the same way or a different way, we are keen to do something if we can.

“We don’t know how many months we’re in this for. We would like to run a Great Yorkshire Show, absolutely, whether it’s the same or different, we don’t know. We are doing lots of planning.”

Read more:

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Ms Parry said none of the contingency plans involved moving the event, which has been held at the Great Yorkshire Showground since 1951, to a different site.

The show was cancelled in 2020 due to coronavirus. A virtual event took place instead with three days of video footage.

Ms Parry added that at least 200 other events have been cancelled this year at the Yorkshire Event Centre and the Pavillions of Harrogate venue, which is also on the showground, due to the pandemic.

A 100-year-old woman from Pateley Bridge was among the first to receive the coronavirus vaccination at the Great Yorkshire Showground yesterday.

Amy Derrick, who has lived in the Pateley area all her life and has a large family of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren in and around the Nidderdale town, has had quite a year.

A large celebration for her 100th birthday on March 21 had to be cancelled due to the start of the first lockdown.

Now she has become one of the first people in the Harrogate district — and possibly the oldest so far — to have been inoculated.

Joyce Liggins, one of Amy’s three children, said the entire process, from booking a time online to navigating their way around the set-up at the showground, ran smoothly. She added:

“A very nice lady gave the injection and we then sat in another room for 15 minutes before leaving. It was well organised.”

Amy now has to wait three weeks before receiving her second Pfizer/BioNTech jab.

Read more: 

• Amy’s 100th Birthday celebrations not stopped by coronavirus
• Vaccine to be given at Great Yorkshire Showground next week

A further 32 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Harrogate district, but the average rate of infection remains the lowest in the county.

Today’s figure from Public Health England takes the district’s total number of cases since the start of the pandemic beyond the 4,000 mark to 4,030.

It comes as the seven-day average continues to increase in parts of North Yorkshire. Scarborough is the highest, with 269 infections per 100,000 people.

Harrogate’s figure, for the seven days to December 19, is 89 — the lowest of the seven districts in North Yorkshire.

The county-wide average is 139 and the England average is 319.

Read more: 

• Coronavirus vaccine centre opens in Harrogate
• 83-year-old among first to be vaccinated in Harrogate

Meanwhile, today saw the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate open its doors for the first people to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

A woman called Ann, who is 83 years old, was among the first through the door to receive the jab.

People aged over 80, care home residents and care home staff are first in line for the vaccine.

The NHS has said people will be contacted directly when their time comes and urged them not to contact their GP.

The coronavirus vaccine centre has opened in Harrogate for the first time.

Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground is housing the local coronavirus vaccination site, which was a hive of activity this morning.

Those over 80, care home residents and care home staff are first in line for the vaccine.

Read more:

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GP practices in Harrogate and the surrounding area will oversee the rollout and appealed for volunteers to help marshal the car park and signpost patients.

The vaccination programme is expected to last several months. Vaccines will be carried out seven days a week from 8am to 8pm.

It has been a long road to this point and news of the vaccine centre opening locally has been welcomed by those in line to receive it.

Health bosses in North Yorkshire have refused to reveal the locations of new vaccination centres that are due to open in the next week.

The vaccine programme is rolling out nationally and it was revealed today that eight more sites are due to go live in North Yorkshire in the next week.

The Stray Ferret reported this week the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate will be one of the vaccine centres.

However, that information was released on social media by GP practices who are involved in the operation and were seeking volunteers to help direct visitors in the car park.

The people in overall charge of public health in the county are steadfastly refusing to reveal the sites, even though they are due to open in days and people are keen to know where they will have to go, partly so they can plan transport.

Read more:

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• Vaccine to be given at Great Yorkshire Showground

Amanda Bloor, the accountable officer for the North Yorkshire CCG, said at a coronavirus press briefing this morning:

“I do know that a number of you have been asking for confirmation for the locations of the sites but we have been strongly discouraged from sharing this information.

“It is really important that these sites are able to operate smoothly and that we protect patient and staff confidentiality.”

This stance may raise some eyebrows, particularly as the locations of the coronavirus testing sites have never been kept secret and have been widely promoted.

The Stray Ferret understands fears over anti-vaccine protesters may be partly behind the decision to keep the sites out of the public eye.

Picture credit: Marco Verch/Flickr.

North Yorkshire GP practices administered their first covid vaccines today.

A handful of practices are believed to have begun the process, although none from the Harrogate district are believed to have done so yet.

The district is still awaiting news of the first person to be vaccinated.

The closest hospital to have administered the vaccine so far is Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Now GPs are joining the mass vaccination effort.

The Stray Ferret revealed today the Great Yorkshire Showground will be used as a vaccination site from next week.

Local vaccination services, which are based on Primary Care Network groupings, will be delivering the vaccine from all types of venues, from GP practices and health centres, to sports halls and community venues.

Dr Charles Parker, clinical chair of NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which buys medicines for the county, said:

“This is a significant milestone in the vaccination programme, but just the start of a process that will likely take several months.

“It’s been a successful first day, with patients commenting on how well organised clinics have been.”

The NHS is asking patients not to contact their GP practices directly for a vaccine appointment.

Amanda Bloor, NHS North Yorkshire CCG accountable officer, said:

“We understand patients’ enthusiasm to have the covid vaccine but it’s important those at most risk from coronavirus are vaccinated first.

“Please do not contact your local GP practice or local hospital to ask for an appointment for a vaccination and please do not turn up at your surgery or hospital – the NHS will proactively contact individuals as part of the vaccination programme and nobody will miss out.”

Have you had the covid vaccine? Or have you been offered a vaccination appointment? If you’re happy to tell us about your experiences please get in touch via email on contact@thestrayferret.co.uk/ 

Read more:

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The Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate is to be used for the vaccine rollout from next week.

The first vaccination is due to be given on Tuesday and the programme is expected to last for several months.

The government has asked the 17 GP practices in Harrogate and the surrounding district, including Ripon, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Pateley Bridge and Masham to oversee the rollout.

The practices are appealing for volunteers to marshal the car park and signpost patients through the vaccination site at the showground, which is owned by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

No details have been given to the media about the rollout but a post on the Harrogate covid co-operation Facebook group yesterday on behalf of the GP practices revealed the news. It said:

“Harrogate and rural district are working together in order to plan for delivering a mass vaccination programme and we need to ask primary care staff and volunteers to help.

“We will need staff and volunteers to undertake a variety of roles and we need to plan for vaccinations to be carried out seven days a week, 8am-8pm, including bank holidays.

“This is a huge ask, but we would like volunteers to indicate if they would be willing to help in some capacity.”

The 250-acre showground has ample car parking and is used to staging large events, most notably the three-day Great Yorkshire Show, which was cancelled this year.

But nothing in the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s 183-year history compares with the task in hand.

Read more:

• Harrogate researcher finds two-thirds will take vaccine
• Two further covid deaths confirmed at Harrogate Hospital

The GPs’ post today said it required 18 volunteers a day. Morning sessions will start with an 8am briefing and the first jabs will be given at 8.30am.

Morning sessions will end at 1.15pm and afternoon vaccinations will take place from 2.30pm to 6.15pm.

The GPs’ post said:

“Unfortunately we aren’t able to offer vaccinations to volunteers at this stage as we have to prioritise certain patient groups.

“Next week is the first stage of the vaccination programme and we are going to need volunteers from the New Year onwards to fulfil the same types of roles for probably a number of months.”

Anyone interested in volunteering is invited to register their interest and complete the questionnaire here.

A poll conducted by researchers in Harrogate has found that two-thirds of people will take the coronavirus vaccine when it becomes available.

The YourPoll survey found 67% said they would take the vaccine and 26% said they would not. The remaining seven per cent were undecided.

Of those who said no, 15% thought coronavirus was a hoax. The rest of the responses highlighted safety concerns and the need for further testing.

The snap poll of a random sample of 439 UK people was conducted in the three days prior to the first coronavirus vaccine on December 8.

Priority groups in the Harrogate district are expected to start receiving the jab this week, although details have not yet been confirmed.

Read more:

• Harrogate district set to get first covid vaccine injections next week
• NHS worker becomes first to receive covid vaccine in Leeds

Neil Addley, managing director of YourPoll and its parent company Judge Service, said:

“There has been a lot of debate about whether people would be willing to take the new vaccine.

“Our poll was designed to show the true feelings of ordinary members of the public, rather than those who shout loudest on social and traditional media.

“It will be interesting to see whether those results are reflected in the real take-up numbers.”