January 26, 2021 10.25 am This story is over 38 months old

All Lincolnshire care homes had first dose of COVID vaccine

Local health teams now focusing on community rollout
Staff and residents at Neale Court care home in North Hykeham delighted to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

All of Lincolnshire’s care homes have now received their first dose of vaccination after meeting their planned target of doing them by the weekend, according to local health bosses.

The NHS vaccination team delivered tens of thousands of vaccinations to all of the 202 elderly homes in the county.

Lincolnshire County Council’s assistant director of public health Tony McGinty said there was just some “mopping up” to do of staff or residents who may have missed their turn due to illness

They will now begin focussing on the thousands of elderly people in the community who cannot access vaccination sites.

Mr McGinty said the news was “incredibly heartening”.

“We know these vaccines are going to help people who come into contact with the virus in the coming months fight it off far more readily, and they will be far less likely to become really ill and, God forbid, die.

“[The team] have done incredibly well, we’re talking tens of thousands of vaccines delivered from the day the first one became available just before Christmas, and we’re not even at the end of January yet.

“It’s been a massive effort by the vaccinators and the care homes, mobilising themselves to get vaccinated.”

Due to the government decision to delay the second dose from 21 days to 12 weeks, the next round of vaccinations is likely to be in April or May, but bosses hope that if the supply situation gets better, it may happen quicker.

However, Mr McGinty said the focus was still on getting first doses to “really vulnerable” people in the first instance.

In a press briefing on Monday, health secretary Matt Hancock said nearly 80% of those aged over 80 had now received their first dose.

Figures released last Thursday said nearly 50,000 had received theirs at the time in Lincolnshire, with 24,253 of those aged over 80.