Sunderland vaccine centres face closing for half the week due to supply shortages
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Health chiefs have made good progress so far, giving jabs to about two thirds of the city’s care home workers and predicting all care home residents will have received a first dose by the end of the week.
But a rush to continue the work among priority groups may see demand quickly outstrip supply.
RELATED: Every care home resident in Sunderland expected to get covid vaccine by the end of the week
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Hide Ad“Vaccination centres can only be open if we have vaccines,” said David Chandler, deputy chief officer and chief financial officer at Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
“We’ve got staff ready to vaccinate, but any centre might only get enough vaccines to vaccinate three days out of seven.
“You’re as likely to walk past a vaccine centre and see it closed as open because we haven’t got as much vaccine as we would like.”
Chandler was speaking at a meeting of Sunderland City Council’s Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee on January 6, which was held by videolink and broadcast via YouTube.
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Hide AdAbout 125,000 in Wearside are in the Government’s top 10 vaccine priority groups, including the over 50s and health and social care workers.
Issues with the Pfizer vaccine were foreseen early, due to the way it must be stored and its short shelf life.
RELATED: Sunderland and South Tyneside NHS staff become first in North East to receive Oxford vaccine
All six of Sunderland’s primary care networks (PCNs) are expected to be ready to start administering jabs by Wednesday (January 13).
This effort will include the Oxford vaccine, which is easier to store and transport, meaning it will also be suitable for door to door treatments for the most vulnerable patients.
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Hide AdHealth chiefs however have insisted the city has received its ‘fair share’ of the national supply.
Dr Fadi Khalil, a GP and the CCG’s vice chairman, added: “Where you see closed [vaccine centres] it is because of vaccine supply.
“When we get [Pfizer] vaccines we have to use them within three days, so once we’re out the gates are shut.
“The disappointment is because we’ve had such a head start we’re now not moving at the same pace.
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Hide Ad“We’re slowing down so we average out and we’re waiting for other areas to catch up and we’re now at the mercy of supply.”