The Isle of Wight is not lagging behind in the vaccine roll out, if anything, one health boss has said the Island is ‘doing better’ than Hampshire.
More than 166,000 people have now been vaccinated against Covid-19 across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in just over a month since the biggest vaccine roll out the country has ever seen.
Four centres and a hub
Four vaccination centres and a hub at St Mary’s Hospital in Newport, have been opened to distribute doses of the vaccine to Islanders, run by the Isle of Wight NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
A fifth centre at Newport’s Riverside Centre is due to open next month.
Legg: Centres working ‘extremely well’
Dr Michele Legg, chair of the CCG, has said the centres have been working ‘extremely well’, following the government guidance on whom to vaccinate, starting with care home patients and staff and they are on track to complete that in the designated time frame.
Further cohorts of people will now start to receive the vaccine as centres work through the categories — some areas, however, are at different stages.
Same number of doses for all practices
Dr Legg explained all practices on the Island have been allocated the same number of doses to give to their patients, meaning smaller practices with fewer patients will be further through their cohort than a bigger practice with more people registered.
Speaking at a meeting of the Isle of Wight Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board, Dr Legg said the Solent, or the Island factor has not left the IW lagging behind in the vaccination programme,
She said,
“If anything we are doing better than surrounding areas.”
Dr Legg urged however for those who have been vaccinated to remain cautious and follow the Coivd safety measures as it is not yet clear as to whether the vaccinations stop the transmission of the potentially deadly virus altogether.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: © DK Photography Isle of Wight
