Coronavirus: Portsmouth NHS boss ‘proud’ as city chosen as hub for Covid vaccine roll-out
The chief executive of Portsmouth’s NHS Trust has spoken of his pride that the city will be one of the UK’s first to begin vaccinating people against coronavirus this week.
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust is one of 50 NHS trusts that will be a hub for delivering the Pfizer vaccine.
People aged 80 and over as well as care home workers will be first to receive the jab, along with NHS workers who are at higher risk.
Mark Cubbon, chief executive at the trust, said: ‘As a trust we are proud to be named as one of the first hospital hubs to begin vaccinating care home workers, those aged over 80 years and health and social care workers.
‘This vaccine plays an important role in our battle against COVID-19 and we are delighted to be involved in the delivery of it.’
Patients aged 80 and above who are already attending hospital as an outpatient, and those who are being discharged home after a hospital stay, will be among the first to receive the jab.
Hospitals across the UK will also begin inviting over 80s in for a jab and work with care home providers to book their staff in to vaccination clinics.
Any appointments not used for these groups will be used for healthcare workers who are at highest risk of serious illness from Covid.
Everyone who is vaccinated will require a second jab 21 days later.
Last week Health Secretary Matt Hancock said 800,000 doses of the vaccine would be arriving in the UK at the start of December.