Why Leeds must pull together and protect loved ones amid vaccination race - Laura Collins, YEP Editor

Every 30 seconds across England another patient is admitted to our country’s hospitals with coronavirus.

For anyone in doubt of that warning or questioning the credence of the claim, it has come straight from the NHS England chief executive, Sir Simon Stevens, himself.

However, Sir Simon said the NHS in England is vaccinating at a rate of “140 jabs-a-minute” and will start testing 24/7 vaccinations in some hospitals in the next 10 days.

Amid the stark reality we should turn our attention to the remarkable effort from Leeds’ health staff and volunteers, who battled through snowy conditions to ensure people could get their jabs last week.

Sam Prince, executive director of operations at Leeds Community Healthcare, and one of those leading the vaccine roll-out in our city, said: “It has been a very good collective ‘team Leeds’ effort.”

Last week we saw the true grit of community spirit shine through when Alwoodley Medical Centre issued a plea for help to clear their car park from snow to ensure elderly patients could still get to their appointments.

People answered the call on social media, to allow for almost 1,200 vaccinations to take place throughout the day at the surgery.

Today we carry the story of the team from Alexandra Court Care Home, who saw their staff and residents receive their jabs over the weekend.

It comes as the Department of Health and Social Care yesterday highlighted the vital role the public can play in the delivery of the vaccines plan.

They are urging people to ensure that the remaining people, aged 80 and over, get their vaccinations. It said that those eligible for the jab will be contacted by letter or text, inviting them to their appointments.

But last week our front page carried the story of centenarian Margaret Marshall because her family were left searching for answers over when she would have her vaccination.

She has since received the first dose of the AstraZeneca jab on Thursday - and even the snow proved to be no barrier for her. Meanwhile, Leeds GP Dr Richard Vautrey said people would not be forgotten about - instead he told residents not to contact their GPs and said they would be contacted individually.

As part of the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Shot In The Arm campaign, we are calling on the Government to mobilise community pharmacies to help play their part in the vaccination race. We are also calling on the Government for timely information to support those who are looking for answers about what to do next.

While it is fantastic to see Leeds United offer their site for a mass vaccination centre, many of you want to know when it will open its doors.

So while health teams are working hard to protect lives, we can all support their efforts by doing one very simple thing.

And that is continuing to pull together as part of the collective effort to help protect our loved ones, families and friends during this third lockdown.

A message from the Editor:

Leeds has a fantastic story to tell - and the Yorkshire Evening Post has been rooted firmly at the heart of telling the stories of our city since 1890. We believe in ourselves and hope you believe in us too. We need your support to help ensure we can continue to be at the heart of life in Leeds.Subscribe to our website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe. For more details on our newspaper subscription offers click here.