First patients in the North West receive Pfizer coronavirus vaccine as hospitals begin roll out
Reports by Rachel Townsend and Andy Bonner
The first patient in Greater Manchester has been given the Covid-19 vaccine as NHS staff across the North West begin the roll out.
Ted Jones, 86, received the jab at Salford Royal Hospital, one of 50 hospital hubs around the UK to administer the vaccine on the first day it was available.
Front line workers were also eligible to receive the vaccine - with many from the hospital also lining up for the first dose of the inoculation.
There are seven hospital hubs within the region where the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will be available, with those over 80, those in care homes, their carers, and frontline health and social care workers first at the front of the queue.
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust
Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust
Liverpool University Hospitals
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
Wirral University Teaching Hospital
Countess of Chester Hospital
Vaccinations are being administered at dozens of hospital hubs across the country from 8 December – reportedly dubbed “V-Day” by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
Professor Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said the distribution of the vaccine would be a “marathon not a sprint”, while Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, said people need to “hang fire” and be assured they have not been forgotten if they have not received a letter or a phone call about the jab.
Mr Hopson said: “I don’t think people should expect anything over the next few days because the reality is, as I said, that for the vast, vast, vast majority of people this will be done in January, February, March.
“And the one thing that we don’t want people to get anxious about or concerned about is ‘Where’s my letter?’ in December.”
The distribution of the vaccine across the UK is being undertaken by Public Health England and the NHS in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland through systems specially adapted from those used for the national immunisation programmes.
After going through final quality control checks, batches will be placed in freezers to ensure they are kept at the right temperature until being used.
The vaccine means hope for many including Shakila who hopes it will finally allow her to give her son Jake - who has special needs and lives in a residential care home - a hug for the first time.
Video report from 7 December by Andy Bonner
The UK has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab, enough to vaccinate 20 million people, as people need to receive two doses.
There are 800,000 doses in the first tranche, meaning 400,000 people will be vaccinated initially.
There are challenges to overcome with vaccinating care home residents despite them being at the top of the priority list, but Mr Hopson said this would begin around a week after the first hospital vaccinations and would be led by primary care networks.
Logistical issues mean there are difficulties in delivering the Pfizer jab to residents, as it needs to be stored at minus 70C before being thawed out and can only be moved up to four times within that cold chain before being used.
The vaccine boxes containing 975 doses will need to be split so they can be taken to care homes.
There are 50 hubs in the first wave of the vaccination programme in England, with more hospitals starting to vaccinate over the coming weeks and months as the programme ramps up.
It is not known when exactly all 50 hubs will receive vaccine doses, as they are starting to administer the jab at different times, but deliveries are expected throughout the week.
NHS Providers deputy chief executive Saffron Cordery said many hospital hubs had received their allocation of the initial 800,000 doses, and she expected there would be up to four million doses in the country by the end of December.