My heartfelt thanks go to the scientists who found a Coronavirus vaccine, and those who administer it in York. But to the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), responsible for organising this admittedly huge operation, fewer thanks.

Being vulnerable by age (88) I’ve had a vaccination letter. But the letter, offering vaccination on December 22 or 23, only arrived late on the 22. Worse, it didn’t offer a definite slot, only online booking, ‘first come first served’, via a website link which didn’t work.

A neighbour had the letter, but no computer. We trudged to the surgery, to be told: ‘This week’s fully booked’. So on Boxing Day I sat wondering: Why were letters not sent earlier? Why no phone booking? Where’s that website? Above all, why were we not offered a definite appointment, but instead forced into a discriminatory and potentially lethal lottery?

The CCG proclaims its statutory duty to ‘reduce inequalities between patients with respect to their ability to access health services’. Surely that requires it to create a fair appointments system, one which doesn’t force us to listen daily for the postie and then rush to the computer (if we have one).

We have better things to do, and the CCG has to do things better.

John Heawood, Eastward Avenue, Fulford, York