8:30am Tuesday 3rd November 2009
By Mike Laycock
ONE of York’s biggest surgeries has started vaccinating hundreds of at-risk patients against swine flu.
The Jorvik Medical Practice, which has surgeries in Stonebow and South Bank, has written to 1,200 patients with conditions such as diabetes and asthma to invite them to book an appointment for a jab.
Practice manager Dana Homer said the treatment started yesterday after 1,000 vaccines arrived last week.
She said special numbers had been assigned for people to ring to book an appointment, and the lines had received a steady stream of calls.
“We had 12 calls in the first two minutes,” she said. Most staff at the practice had themselves been vaccinated last week, in line with Government guidance, to ensure they remained healthy enough to treat patients.
She said staff members had not suffered any side-effects, other than soreness on the arm where the jab was carried out.
She said the current batch of patients being vaccinated was only the “first wave,” with other groups set to be invited to come forward at a later date. She said only those who have received letters should book an appointment at this stage.
The manager said the routine seasonal flu vaccination programme at Jorvik had had a lower take-up than normal, possibly because of the heavy media coverage about swine flu, and patients could still come forward to have this as well as the swine flu jab. The vaccination programme has started just as the number of cases of swine flu reaches a new peak in York and North Yorkshire, with the number of consultations almost doubling in the last fortnight.
The Press reported recently that 17 patients had been admitted to York Hospital with symptoms of the illness in the last two weeks, and hospital staff began receiving the protective jabs last week.
Public health experts have reminded patients that swine flu is a mild illness for most people, and they should contact the National Pandemic Flu Service, which can provide antiviral medicine if required, rather than go to their GP or local hospital.
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