Since the vaccination programme began last December hundreds of thousands of Oxfordshire residents have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and everyone aged 18 and over in the county has been offered a vaccine by the Government deadline of 19 July.
GP practices, nurses, doctors, staff and volunteers from across the whole health and care system have been working tirelessly together to make sure that we are able to deliver the vaccination to those who live or work in Oxfordshire.
887,000 people have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination and 379,000 people have had their second dose. This is equivalent to 96 per cent take-up in those aged 70 and over, 93 per cent in the 60 to 69-year-olds and 90 per cent in the 50 to 59-year-olds. 70 per cent of vaccines have been delivered by GP-led primary care networks alongside business as usual of treating patients for non-COVID illnesses.
More than 197,000 vaccinations were delivered at the Kassam Stadium – the first of three large scale centres set up by Oxford Health as lead provider for vaccination centres for the NHS in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire West. In addition, 4,650 vaccines were delivered at short-term pop-up vaccination clinics and out in communities at Health On The Move buses – roving vaccine centres travelling around the county to make sure as many people as possible have the opportunity to be jabbed.
Mark Stone, Chief Executive of South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils and Chair of the Oxfordshire Vaccination Delivery Board, said: “For everyone who has taken up the offer of being vaccinated, thank you. It is an amazing achievement that so many people in Oxfordshire have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
“By having our jabs we have all helped to prevent people becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 and have reduced the overall numbers of people who have died and, regrettably, will still die from the effects of this horrible virus.”
Jo Cogswell, Director of Transformation at Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “We are fortunate to have the mass vaccination site in Oxfordshire at the Kassam Stadium but we have also held vaccination clinics in local GP practices, village halls, mosques, churches and walk-in clinics at both Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University. We also have our ‘Health on the Move’ van that is delivering vaccinations to those communities who are further afield or not able to get to a vaccination clinic.
“I would like to thank everyone involved for making this happen and encourage anyone who hasn’t yet been vaccinated to do so, there is still time and it is vital we vaccinate as many people as possible to combat the rising infection rates.”
Tehmeena Ajmal, Covid Operations Director, said the success of the vaccination programme in Oxfordshire was a credit to the hundreds of staff delivering jabs and all the staff and volunteers who have made the different vaccination sites and centres possible.
She said: “It has been amazing to deliver life-saving vaccinations to so many people in Oxfordshire. I am so proud of the contribution Oxford Health has been able to offer to this incredible programme. We see and hear every day how pleased people are to receive their vaccine, and this is hugely rewarding.”
David Walliker, Chief Digital and Partnership Officer at Oxford University Hospitals who oversaw the Trust’s vaccination centre at the Churchill Hospital, said: “We are delighted that so many people who live and work in Oxfordshire have taken up the offer of getting the life-saving COVID-19 vaccine.
“That includes more than 15,000 members of staff who have received their vaccinations, and to them I’d like to say a big ‘thank you’ for keeping our patients and each other as safe as possible. Our hardworking vaccinators also administered more than 46,000 vaccines to vulnerable patients and other NHS and social care staff between December 2020 and April 2021.
“In that time, we were also thrilled to witness history when Sam Foster, our Chief Nursing Officer, administered the world’s first Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine outside clinical trials here in Oxford.
“While we are proud of how many people in Oxfordshire have taken up the offer of a vaccination, we are still keen for those who haven’t to come forward and get vaccinated. You can do so via the NHS website or by calling 119.”
Anyone aged 18 or over can book a vaccination on the national booking service (no need to wait to be invited).”
Cases of COVID-19 across the county are continuing to rise and – alongside vaccination – testing remains crucial in stopping the spread. Oxford remains a government enhanced response area. Anyone living, working or visiting the city can get a free PCR test at one of five walk-in locations across the city. These will be available until at least 4 August.
Further information is available at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/covidtest. Additional bookable testing slots are available in the rest of the county. If you have any symptoms and live outside Oxford City, you can book a PCR test using the national booking system.
