First mass Covid vaccinations for over-80s could start on Monday, says GP

Those living in the Burmantofts, Harehills and Richmond Hill who are aged 80 and over will be first in line for the vaccinations at East Park Medical Centre, with the first appointments being as early as Monday.

Dr Amal Paul is a GP and primary care network clinical director in north-east Leeds. He said around 975 doses are expected to be received early next week.

But the vaccinations will not be offered to all of the general public, with individual practices being tasked with identifying vulnerable, elderly people in the area and contacting them to offer a vaccination.

On why the area was chosen as one of the cirty’s first, Dr Paul said: “I think, historically Harehills, Burmantofts and Richmond Hill are very deprived areas and have significant numbers of people that live with health inequalities.

“These people have suffered a lot through infections.”

It follows the news that Sylvia Harris, 80, was the first Leeds resident to be given the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday, December 8.

The NHS said people aged 80 and over as well as care home workers would be first to receive the jab in the coming days, while NHS workers who are at higher risk will also be prioritised.

The vaccine will be offered more widely and at other locations as soon as possible.

But Dr Paul and his team face a race against time, as the vaccine doses expire in a matter of days.

It means co-ordinating vaccination activity at the medical centre calls for expert planning and efficiency.

Dr Paul estimated between 300 and 350 people a day will be vaccinated at the surgery, with each of those people then returning their second injection in the first week of January.

He said: “We plan to get the vaccine in on Monday morning, and we want to administer some, if we can, on Monday afternoon.

“So we have around 3.5 days to vaccinate nearly 1,000 people. We have generated a rota system. The practice will inform the patients according to the slot that is available.

“It is a big challenge, but we are very efficient, experienced and resilient. The system is geared up for the challenge.

“If we give people the vaccinations, it will give some positive impact on the population.”