Half of adults in Herefordshire and Worcestershire get jab

Half of all adults in Herefordshire and Worcestershire have now received at least one Covid jab, NHS bosses have said, as the supply of vaccines to the counties is set to more than double this week.

As many as 338,000 doses have been given out in Worcestershire and Herefordshire up to March 7.

Around 51 per cent of adults in both counties have been given at least one dose of a Covid vaccine and around 75 per cent of people aged 50 and over have now received at least one jab.

The weekly supply of jabs to both counties is set to increase from next week to as many as 65,000, according to the region’s clinical commissioning group chief executive Simon Trickett, as the focus moves to delivering thousands of second doses.

Mr Trickett also revealed he was hoping second jabs would be given out to every adult in Worcestershire and Herefordshire by the summer.

On top of that, every person across the two counties aged 50 and over should have been invited for their first jab by the end of March, Mr Trickett said, ahead of the national target of mid-April.

“Consistently, Herefordshire and Worcestershire has been amongst the top performing areas in the country,” Mr Trickett said to Worcestershire County Council’s health and overview scrutiny committee on Wednesday (March 10).

“And on many of the metrics we have been the best performing part of the country on delivering vaccinations. Huge credit must go to all the people involved.”

“Probably over the last few weeks, supply has been the big issue. Certainly through February.

“We have probably been doing between 25,000 and 35,000 vaccines a week across Herefordshire and Worcestershire during the latter part of January and February.

“The good news is that for the last two weeks that has been between 35,000 and 40,000 so it is starting to step up and the even better news it that, as of next Monday, supply really opens up.

“Our delivery schedule for next week and for actually as far as we can see for the next few months, is 55,000 to 65,000 a week which obviously is great news mainly because as of this week we are also giving second doses alongside first doses.

“We want to get this done as quickly as we possibly can and as efficiently and effectively as we possibly again.”

Mr Trickett said there had been a “really high take up generally” of vaccines and much higher than the national expectation of 75 per cent when the vaccination programme was being planned last year – adding that nearly all of the people in the most vulnerable groups had taken up the offer of a vaccine.