Harrogate district set to get first covid vaccine injections next week

The first covid vaccines in North Yorkshire will be injected at seven sites across the county next week, it was revealed today.

Amanda Bloor, accountable officer at North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, gave the news everyone has been waiting to hear at a weekly media briefing of North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which represents all the organisations in the county responding to the pandemic.

Ms Bloor said the sites had been identified but did not reveal where they are.

She said the CCG, which buys medical services for the county, will provide further details when they are finalised.

Ms Bloor described the programme as a “logistical challenge”, but added that it was “fantastic news” that patients were starting to get the vaccine across the country.

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Planning for the vaccination programme is taking place on a regional level, including East Yorkshire, Hull and North Lincolnshire.

People included in the highest priority category, including those aged over 80 and front line NHS staff, will be the first to be offered the jab.

Ms Bloor said she anticipated that more sites will offer the vaccine in the coming weeks.

She said:

“We are currently in final planning for seven sites across North Yorkshire and York to people in North Yorkshire and York from next week.

“I do anticipate that more sites will come on stream in the following weeks and into the New Year.”

It comes as the first coronavirus vaccines were dispatched to 50 hospitals in the UK as the country embarks on the biggest vaccination programme in British history.

Each hospital received a batch of 975 doses. Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, which runs St James’s University Hospital, is the closest to offer the vaccine to Harrogate.

Sylvia Harris, an 80-year-old NHS healthcare worker who joined the trust when she was 26, was the first to receive the jab in the city yesterday.

Leeds nearest hospital to get first vaccines

Leeds will be the nearest place to receive the first coronavirus vaccines, according to national media reports this morning,

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said yesterday 50 hospitals were ready to receive the vaccine within days.

The Department of Health has yet to publish an official list of hospitals or details of how the jab will be administered. But the names of the 50 hospitals appear to have been leaked to the national media, some of which have published them today.

According to the reports, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, whose hospitals include Leeds General Infirmary, is the nearest to the Harrogate district.

The Harrogate Nightingale is not included on the list.

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The vaccine must be kept at -70°C until it is used, which means sites chosen to administer it must have adequate storage facilities.

Hancock has also said there will be a community rollout of the vaccine, including GPs and pharmacists.

The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust if it could confirm it was not on the list.

A spokesman replied:

“Any comment on decisions on which hospitals are on the list would be something for the NHS England regional communications team.”

Harrogate hospital reports 100th coronavirus death

Harrogate District Hospital today recorded its 100th coronavirus death since the start of the pandemic.

The grim milestone comes on the day England ended its second lockdown.

The hospital reported its first coronavirus death on March 16.

NHS England figures out this afternoon revealed the latest death happened at the hospital on Monday.

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The hospital is currently caring for 22 coronavirus patients, which is nine fewer than the same time last week.

North Yorkshire is well below the England seven-day average rate of infection at 107 per 100,000 people, compared to 154 per 100,000 nationally.

The Harrogate district has the lowest rate in North Yorkshire at 92 per 100,000. Selby is the highest with 134.6 per 100,000.

 

Harrogate Nightingale could be used as vaccination centre

Harrogate’s Nightingale Hospital could become a vaccination centre when a coronavirus vaccine is ready to be rolled out.

The Prime Minister’s spokesperson said the country’s Nightingales were “one possible way” of offering the vaccine to significant numbers of people.

Set up in April at a cost of £27 million, the Harrogate Nightingale has so far not treated a single covid patient.

It comes as health bosses in North Yorkshire said earlier this week that they will be prepared to rollout the vaccine once it is ready.

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Amanda Bloor, accountable officer at North Yorkshire CCG, told a press briefing of the North Yorkshire Resilience Forum that health bosses were putting plans in place for the county

She said:

“Although there is some uncertainty on timescales, we will be ready in December to deploy a vaccine if it is available.

“But it is likely that wider vaccination will take place after Christmas and into the New Year. Any vaccination that happens before Christmas would be for very vulnerable groups.

“We are planning to be ready for this with our partners.

“Even when we do have a vaccine, we still need to observe any social distancing measures, lockdown measures and the guidance around hand washing and hygiene.”

Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health at North Yorkshire County Council. also welcomed the results of the vaccine but warned that “long term behavioural change” was needed to tackle the virus.

The Pfizer and BioMTech vaccine was revealed to be 90% effective after being tested on 43,500.

A rollout of the vaccine is expected to target older and vulnerable people first.

North Yorkshire ‘will be prepared’ for covid vaccine

Health bosses in North Yorkshire have said they will be prepared to rollout a coronavirus vaccine in December, if it is available.

Amanda Bloor, accountable officer at North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which buys medicines for the county, said it was working with national officials to make sure plans are in place to offer the vaccine.

It comes as preliminary results of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine showed that it was 90% effective after being tested on 43,500 people.

Ms Bloor told a press briefing yesterday of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, a partnership of agencies that tackle emergencies, there was “significant work” to do on the safety of the vaccine but the CCG would be ready for a rollout next month.

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She said:

“Although there is some uncertainty on timescales, we will be ready in December to deploy a vaccine if it is available.

“But it is likely that wider vaccination will take place after Christmas and into the New Year. Any vaccination that happens before Christmas would be for very vulnerable groups.

“We are planning to be ready for this with our partners.”

“Even when we do have a vaccine, we still need to observe any social distancing measures, lockdown measures and the guidance around hand washing and hygiene.”

‘Don’t contact your GP’

Ms Bloor urged patients not to contact GP practices about the vaccine as it is not available. She said once it is, the CCG will be “very clear about the process”.

The government has said that any vaccine will be offered to the public in phases.

The first phase will include people living and working in care homes, those over the age of 80, then over 75, over 70, over 65 and then over 60.

It will then be offered to adults with health conditions that put them at risk, before it is given to those over the age of 55 and then 50.

The vaccine is given in two doses, three weeks apart.

‘Cautiously optimistic’

Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health at North Yorkshire County Council, welcomed the preliminary results of the Pfizer vaccine.

Dr Sargeant said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the results but added there needed to be “long-term behavioural change” to overcome the virus.

He said:

“Any new drug or any new vaccine, the preliminary results are always going to be rosey for a variety of reasons.

“It is likely that when this vaccine is deployed fully that the effectiveness will be somewhat less than 90%.

“But it is still positive news, because it says that we have a vaccine that not only does the biology in terms of triggering the anti-bodies but in practice it can actually prevent infection.”

Meanwhile, a further 75 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed across the Harrogate district according to Public Health England figures today.

It takes the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic up to 3,178.

The seven-day rolling average rate of covid infections for the district has risen above 300 people per 100,000 for the first time.

The rate, which was 160 just over a fortnight ago, is now 307, which is above the England average of 254.

Big take-up for coronavirus vaccine trial in Harrogate district

Nearly 1,400 people have signed up to the coronavirus vaccine trial – forcing local NHS trusts to increase capacity.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust originally said that there was room for 2,250 people and said that it could increase capacity to 6,000.

So far, more than 6,600 people have signed up to the trial across Leeds, Harrogate and York.

The biggest uptake has been in Leeds where close to 4,000 people have signed up. It is the highest uptake for local authorities in the UK.

Dr Jacqueline Andrews, the executive medical director at Harrogate NHS FT, said:

“I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has signed up to the campaign so far. So many people from the Harrogate district have signed up already. We really appreciate your support.”

Dr Phil Wood, Chief Medical Officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust added:

“An effective vaccine against the coronavirus is key. It’s important for large-scale vaccine studies that we get as many people as possible from our community to sign up to take part.”

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The trusts are considering different locations throughout Leeds, Harrogate, and York for the trial. They are keen to use spaces like sports halls, away from hospitals.

Around 70 staff will spend three days in each location, aiming to give 250 vaccines with each person having a 90-minute consultation. The trial will start at the end of September.

To register interest in the vaccine trial visit the NHS vaccine research website by clicking or tapping here.

How does a vaccine study work?

The NHS may give those who have signed up for the trial a vaccine or a placebo. Either way, participants will need to visit the research site a few times over the next six to 12 months.

At each of those visits, the staff will talk about the research study, take blood tests and answer any questions.

Between visits, participants will need to tell staff about any symptoms and may need to take a throat or nose swab every week while keeping a diary.