Rycote Practice
The Rycote Practice has completed the vaccination of all patients over the age of 70 as well as all care home patients and staff. Uptake has been nearly 99% in these groups. There are a very small number of patients who have not responded to us or who are currently unable to receive the vaccine because they have been unwell. If you have not yet received the vaccine or know of someone who hasn’t, please contact the practice so that we can arrange this.
We have now been asked by NHS England to focus on patients in Cohort 6 (those with underlying health conditions) while larger regional vaccination centres will be asked to focus on Cohort 5 (those aged 65 – 69). We expect to be able to offer a small number of vaccines to patients at The Rycote Practice later this week (ending 19 February) and a larger number at Morland House Surgery in Wheatley next week (ending 26 February). Please do not contact the surgery – we will contact you if you are eligible.
We are aware that there has been some confusion in the media about whether carers or asthmatics will be eligible for vaccination in this cohort. According to guidance, carers will be eligible if they are 'in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or…are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill.' Patients with asthma will be eligible if they 'require continuous or repeated use of systemic steroids or with previous exacerbations requiring hospital admission.'
Unity Health
We have now invited all our top four cohorts and last week had permission to start inviting those in the 65-70 year old cohort (cohort 5) and we invited all our 68 and 69 year olds. To date we have vaccinated the following:
Aged 80 + and health and social care workers: 95%
Care home residents: 100%
Aged 75-79: 97%
Aged 70-74: 93%
Aged 65-69: 38%
W/c 15 February we do not have any vaccine being delivered as nationally they are distributing vaccine to areas that are not doing so well to ensure all areas of the country are at similar levels of vaccination across the cohorts.
W/c 22 February we again have over 1500 vaccines being delivered. We have now been asked to stop inviting 65-70 year olds – these patients will receive letters from the NHS to attend the mass vaccination sites. We have been asked to invite cohort 6 which is patients of any age with underlying health conditions – this is broadly in line with the flu vaccination cohort (with a few changes). We have received clarification around patients with asthma – only patients who have ever had an exacerbation requiring hospital admission or those prescribed at least 3 courses of oral steroids in the previous 12 months are in cohort 6 (this is the same as the flu vaccination cohort but a number of practices have, previously, included all asthmatic patients in the flu cohort). As soon as we have scheduled the clinic dates we will start to invite these patients. This is a large cohort so it may take 3 weeks to vaccinate this cohort (depending on vaccine delivery).
We are still waiting for final details on the recall for the second vaccination. Information to date, is that we will invite patients in the 11th week after their first vaccination so we would expect this to be early March. We are waiting for final clarification and dates for vaccine delivery and will then schedule these clinics and invite patients. Current advice is that all patients should receive a second dose of whichever vaccine they had for the first dose. There is research currently being carried out on whether a better response is received when two different vaccines are given for the two doses but this is not expected to report for a number of months yet.
In order to ensure that the vaccination programme has maximum benefit, please continue to wear a mask, practice good hand hygiene and observe social distancing even after you have been vaccinated. Stay safe. Protect the NHS. Save Lives.
