Health bosses in South Tyneside and Sunderland have praised NHS staff for their help in ensuring more than 1,100 people have received the new Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust was the first acute and community trust in the North East to start vaccinating frontline staff after receiving the newly-approved vaccine on Monday.
Tracey Barnett, who works on the community stroke team, was the first person to be vaccinated at South Tyneside District Hospital, while GP hubs in South Tyneside, Sunderland and Easington have also been vaccinating.
Kath Griffin, Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development, said: “The uptake of the vaccine has been fantastic and so far we have managed to vaccinate over 1,100 members of staff, either through our hospital clinics or via our local GP hubs.
“Our staff are excited to be getting the vaccination, which is providing some much needed light at end of what has been a very challenging year for them. It’s also providing them with a lot of reassurance of having that first line of defence against Covid-19.
“Vulnerable staff and those who were shielding have been prioritised as an initial priority group, along with patient-facing frontline workers. As we receive further supplies of the vaccine we will ensure that all staff who wish to be vaccinated will have the chance to do so."
The Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored in a conventional fridge - rather than the -70C needed for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine - so it is easily transportable.
And it is hoped that tens of millions of people will be inoculated by April.
Ms Griffin added: “Clearly this is just the start of the process, but we are confident and well prepared to roll out the vaccine to all of our staff and we are working closely with our partners to look at the logistics of vaccinating other groups of eligible staff and patients in the coming weeks and months.
“This has been a huge undertaking for the trust to be able to start our vaccination programme, it really has been a team effort and I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to getting this set up so quickly.”
Public Health England data reveals there were 8,436 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in South Tyneside up to January 7. In Sunderland 15,035 people have tested positive for the virus.
