A total of 1000 Covid vaccines were administered at Minster GP surgery yesterday (January 16) to patients aged over 80 from across Westgate Surgery, Minster Surgery, St Peter’s Surgery, Birchington Medical Practice, Broadstairs Medical Practice and Ash Surgery.
A message from Birchington Medical Practice says the GP hub is currently working through care home residents, those 80 years and over and healthcare workers.
As of Thursday arrangements were being made at Minster to start making appointments for the next groups on the list, including those aged 75 and over.
Birchington Medical Practice says: “There has now been confirmation of a small supply of the AstraZeneca vaccine arriving this week and this will be prioritised for care homes in our patch.
“It has been impossible to pre-plan the vaccine campaign as delivery has only been confirmed a few days in advance in some cases. Our Primary Care Network teams will do our best to continue to keep our GP surgeries operating alongside this immense vaccination campaign.
“A huge, huge thank you to all of the staff who have (and will continue) to work considerable hours over the next few months to ensure that all of the patients in our PCN are vaccinated as quickly as possible.”
Staff are understood to have worked from 8am to 8pm to ensure the vaccination appointments were completed.
Hundreds of patients were taken to the surgery by Thanet Community Transport. The company charges £3 each way anywhere in Thanet. Drivers will wait to take customers straight back home, Call 01843 602030.
Ramsgate
The vaccination programme in Ramsgate is being run at Montefiore Medical Centre collaboratively with East Cliff, The Grange, Dashwood, Newington and Summerhill.
The Centre says the service will be impacted by the availability of vaccines and the collective ability to staff the clinics but “rest assured we are all committed to deliver this programme as quickly and safely as possible to allow all of lives to return to a new sense of normal.”
Mocketts/Margate
Mocketts Wood/Margate vaccination programme serves The Limes Medical Centre, Northdown Surgery, Bethesda Medical Centre, Mocketts Wood Surgery. By January 13 this hub had vaccinated over 78% of all care home residents and staff in the PCN. Only four care homes were left due to a pre-existing Covid outbreak.
Vaccinations are also being carried out at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, predominantly focusing on high priority patients who would be coming to hospital for other care, plus NHS and care home staff, and from tomorrow (January 18) health care staff can receive the jab at the Spitfire cricket ground in Canterbury.
This month the vaccine developed by Moderna became the third to be approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The other two are the Pfizer/BioNTech and the Oxford/AstraZeneca.
The Pfizer vaccine has to be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius. Moderna has said that its vaccine needs to be frozen too, at minus 20 Celsius.
The AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored and transported at normal refrigerated temperature.
There is a delay in delivery of the Pfizer vaccine while the firm upgrades manufacturing facilities.
This will temporarily impact shipments in late January to early February but there will be a significant increase in doses available for patients in late February and March.
Thanet data
Positive covid rates per 100,000 people have again been falling in Thanet, from 807.5 on January 9 to 611.6 yesterday (rolling 7 day rates have a 6 day time lag meaning yesterday’s figure was for week ending January 11).
The government data dashboard information yesterday showed 97 new positive tests recorded, making 818 in the last seven days – a drop of 22%. A total of 9,448 positive tests have been recorded for Thanet,
Six deaths within 28 days of a positive test were recorded making 39 in the last seven days and a total recorded for Thanet of 310 as of January 15.
Data for East Kent Hospitals shows 397 patients in Margate, Ashford and Canterbury hospitals with covid as of January 12 with 29 people on mechanical ventilation,
