GP surgeries across England will be rolling out the Oxford vaccine shortly.
Hundreds of GPs across England are to start administering the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, as Covid-19 infection rates continue to rise in the UK. Unlike the Pfizer/BioNTech jab, the Oxford vaccine can be stored at fridge temperatures and it is, therefore, the easier of the two to administer. 1.3 million Brits have already received a jab and the next step in the NHS mass rollout programme is to open vaccination clinics at local GPs.
The plan is for over 700 sites in England to start delivering vaccines by the end of the week, including GPs who have now been instructed to “stand down non-essential work.” According to Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, these vaccination clinics will accelerate the immunisation drive, “ensure the most vulnerable people are protected and save tens of thousands of lives.”
Due to “localised issues” and inconsistencies in the delivery of supplies, GPs have repeatedly had to delay these vaccination clinics. Home Secretary, Priti Patel, said “The NHS has a clear plan for delivering the vaccine and the plan has been working, it is going out to GPs. This is the biggest rollout programme of vaccination in the history of the NHS so there are clearly some issues right now but the fact of the matter is we are absolutely getting this vaccine rolled out.”
The goal is to have 14 million people in the highest priority groups vaccinated by mid-February and GPs will largely contribute to this target. Seven mass vaccination centres will also open next week in London, Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Surrey and Stevenage.