December 3, 2020 1.47 pm This story is over 38 months old

Lincolnshire hospitals among first 50 to get COVID-19 vaccine

Ready to be delivered within days

By Local Democracy Reporter

Lincolnshire hospitals will be among the first 50 in the UK to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed in a Downing Street press conference that Pfizer’s approved vaccine is ready for distribution within days.

A total of 50 hospitals in the country are already set up and waiting to receive the vaccine, including United Lincolnshire Hospitals.

The vaccine will be given to priority groups in the first phase of delivery, with care home residents and carers atop the list.

They will be followed by people over the age of 80 as well as frontline health and social care workers, before ages are gradually lowered in multiples of five.

It hasn’t been confirmed which Lincolnshire hospital will be selected out of Lincoln County, Boston Pilgrim, Grantham or Louth, but ULHT chief executive Andrew Morgan confirmed that the county was involved.

He said: “We are one of the fifty hubs waiting for vaccine delivery, and we are ready to do what is required of us.”

Mr. Morgan did, however, say there was no guarantee on time frame and a date of delivery is yet to be announced.

In the last seven days (November 25 to Wednesday, December 2) a total of 156 cases of coronavirus came through ULHT. 97 people were discharged and 42 people died.

On Wednesday, there were 249 COVID-19 inpatients, 131 in Lincoln and 118 at Pilgrim hospitals, while Grantham remains a COVID-free hospital.

Phase 1 vaccine priority groups:

  1. Residents in a care home for older adults and their carers
  2. All those 80 years of age and over as well as frontline health and social care workers
  3. All those 75 years of age and over
  4. All those 70 years of age and over as well as clinically extremely vulnerable individuals
  5. All those 65 years of age and over
  6. All individuals aged 16 years to 64 years with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality
  7. All those 60 years of age and over
  8. All those 55 years of age and over
  9. All those 50 years of age and over