Earlier today the first people in Lincolnshire to receive the COVID-19 vaccine were administered it at Lincoln County Hospital.
I warmly welcome this advance in our fight against the pandemic and am glad to know that Lincolnshire's vaccine hospital hub is one of the first fifty locations in the country to start vaccinating the priority groups determined by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
For the first week here in Lincolnshire the NHS will be vaccinating the following priority groups:
- Those in the over-80 age group who are inpatients and outpatients (at Lincoln County Hospital) and will therefore already be at the hospital and who we can safely vaccinate in the first instance. The LCH team are contacting those eligible to offer appointments.
- Care home staff from across the county. We are working closely with colleagues at Lincolnshire County Council, with the support of Lincolnshire Care Association, to offer appointments.
- NHS staff from ULHT, LPFT, and LCHS across Lincolnshire who are most at risk will also be prioritised and offered the vaccine. Most at risk is determined according to a number of factors, such as work location, age, ethnicity etc. We undertook individual risk assessments in the summer for all staff.
People being offered the vaccine will be invited to attend the LCH hospital hub through the mechanisms mentioned above.
In the coming days the local NHS will receive more information regarding additional delivery models in the county, both for hospital hubs and vaccination centres as well as through primary care.
I would like to thank the Lincolnshire NHS Clinical Commissioning Group, the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, the Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust, and the Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust for the work they have done and continue to do to fight the virus, protect the vulnerable, and keep the people of our county healthy and safe.