Vaccine roll-out in Leeds hailed as 'amazing achievement' as nation marks six months since first Covid-19 jab

The Elland Road vaccination centre in Leeds. Picture: Simon Hulme

The “amazing achievements” of all involved in the Leeds vaccine roll-out has been praised by health chiefs as the nation marks six months since the first vaccination was given.

On December 8 2020, Margaret Keenan, 90, in Coventry became the first person in the UK - and the world - to receive a Covid-19 jab as the mass vaccination programme began.

Six months on, more than 40 million people in the UK, or three-quarters of the adult population, have joined her in receiving a first dose of the vaccine.

In Leeds latest Government figures show a total of 762,915 vaccinations have been given - including 449,028 first doses and 313,887 second doses.

According to the most recent NHS figures, 100 per cent of the city’s 75-79 age group is now fully vaccinated and over 90 per cent of the 65-69 and over 80s’ age groups.

Over 90 per cent of over 50s have had at least one dose and over 80 per cent of those aged 40-49, along with 68.3 per cent of the 35-39 group and 47.4 per cent of the 30-34s.

Sam Prince, the senior responsible officer for the vaccination programme in Leeds, said: “Where we are in Leeds six months after the first vaccination is an amazing achievement by the NHS and everyone involved in the programme - our local authority and community sector partners and the fantastic number of volunteers who have supported the delivery of vaccination services across our city.

“In just six months we’ve given a total of over ¾ million vaccinations to people in Leeds.

“However it remains vitally important that everyone who is eligible gets their jab as soon as possible, especially as restrictions ease and cases of the Delta variant continue to climb.

“Uptake in Leeds has been very good overall but we continue to do all we can to reach people who have not yet taken up the offer of a jab and are providing a range of different services across the city, including drop-in services like our vaccination bus.

“Today we opened up appointments for the final cohort, starting with people aged 25-29 and we are urging everyone who is eligible to book an appointment as soon as possible.

“Every vaccination really does count and will protect both you and your loved ones, as well as helping us to get back to a normal way of life as soon as possible.”

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