Covid jab supplies 'not sufficient' yet for practices to vaccinate their most vulnerable - Dr Richard Vautrey

Dr Richard Vautrey, who also chairs the British Medical Association's General Practitioners Committee, said the current GP-led sites in Leeds and elsewhere are well placed to administer the vaccines but the number of available doses is the main issue now holding them back.

"I think the practices are doing incredibly well across Leeds," he said. "The rate-limiting factor is the supply of the vaccine.

"At the moment, there's not sufficient supply in terms of the needs of the practices to vaccinate their most vulnerable - that's got to be the priority."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has set an ambitious target of having 14 million people vaccinated against Covid-19 by mid-February.

There are currently 17 vaccination sites operating across the city, with a large vaccination centre at Elland Road expected to open in the coming weeks.

The Government has set the target for a vaccination centre to be less than 10 miles away from every resident in the UK.

But the Yorkshire Evening Post has teamed up with sister titles across the country to urge Prime Minister Boris Johnson to go one step further - to deploy the country’s network of 11,000 pharmacies to ensure that every citizen is only a short walk away from a centre.

Our campaign also requests further reassurance for local communities from the Government and more easy-to-access information on the vaccine programme and its progress.

Dr Vautrey said that before any move is made to involve pharmacies in administering jabs, the issues around the amount of vaccines available would need to be resolved.

Also in news: Leeds Covid vaccinations progressing "really well" says public health director as more than 40,000 people get first jab

Talking about how the ambitious Covid-19 vaccination programme compares to annual flu vaccinations, he said: "With the flu, it's something that's planned well in advance, we know the manufacturing, we know how many patients are going to be vaccinated.

"We're still at the stage [with Covid] where, whether it was that delivered by Pfizer or AstraZeneca, they are producing vaccines, not only for our country but worldwide. We're well ahead in the UK compared to other countries, but we could always use more."

Supplies reaching the vaccination centres in Leeds were in line with what they expected, he said, adding: "At the moment, practices have received doses on a weekly basis in limited numbers. We would like it to be received on a daily basis so we can vaccinate on a continuous basis."

Dr Vautrey is confident that if the supplies were there then the existing teams could deliver vaccinations daily without it impacting on the regular GP services they also provide.

He said: "There's huge enthusiasm from practice staff to support vaccination and the programme. It's a top priority for patients."

Meanwhile, he asked patients yet to receive their jabs to do their bit to ease any pressures on local practices by waiting to be contacted about their jab.

"I think the key thing is to be patient," he said. "We will contact you as soon as we get the vaccine and we will let you know and book you into the appointments.

"We have had lots of people ringing to say 'don't forget me'. We won't. As soon as we get the vaccine, we'll contact people - and please do keep the appointment."

Also in news: The different Covid vaccines explained - and why you can't choose which one you receive

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