March 18, 2021 12.18 pm This story is over 46 months old

“We have enough COVID vaccines”: Reassurances after supply issues in Lincolnshire

Fewer vaccines available from end of March
Ellen Smith, 74, getting her COVID jab. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Health bosses in Lincolnshire said there will be enough vaccine doses to cover the first phase of the government’s rollout and some second doses as well.

It comes as national media report a slowdown in vaccine supply across the country from the end of March.

Government bosses confirmed the issue but said no-one who had an appointment should be worried, nor that the roadmap out of lockdown would be affected.

A letter from the NHS urged against vaccinating anyone under the age of 50 unless in exceptional circumstances.

Health secretary Matt Hancock later told MPs in the House of Commons that there had been a need to retest the stability of 1.7 million doses and a delay in a scheduled delivery from the Serum Institute in India.

A spokesperson for NHS Lincolnshire CCG said: “We aim to finish vaccinating cohorts 1-9 (those aged 50 and over and the clinically extremely vulnerable) before mid-April, therefore completing phase 1 of the vaccination roll-out

“We have enough vaccines coming to do that over coming weeks.

“We will spend some time delivering second doses over the coming weeks for those people that are due them.”

However, they urged those who had not yet had their first jab to make an appointment and make sure they attend their appointment.

Last week, Martin Fahy, from the CCG said as many as 60 people a day were missing appointments at the county’s COVID-19 vaccination centres.

Although he understood that circumstances might change, or emergencies occured, he urged people to cancel and re-arrange if they could not attend.

The county’s two main vaccination centres at the Lincolnshire Showground in Lincoln and the Princess Royal Sports Arena in Boston can vaccinate between 900-1,000 people a day each alongside the smaller satellite vaccinator centres dotted around the county.

Supply slowdown is just one of the issues besetting the vaccination programme this week as bosses previously moved to reassure people the AstraZeneca jab was safe.

It comes after several EU countries banned or suspended the use of the vaccine following a number of patients suffering blood clots, despite medical agencies saying it is safe.