The vaccination of 'medically vulnerable' people is due to resume at the Askham Bar vaccination centre today after being briefly suspended until new supplies of vaccine could be received.

Those classed as 'medically vulnerable' include people aged between 16 and 65 who have medical conditions such as leukaemia, diabetes, dementia, heart problems and kidney and liver disease. With adult carers they make up the sixth group of people on the government's priority list for vaccination.

Vaccination of people aged 65 and over (Group 5 on the government's priority list) has continued unaffected all week in York on the blue (national) vaccination site at Askham Bar.

But vaccination of people in Group 6 on the red (local) site was suspended earlier this week

A spokesperson for Nimbuscare, which is organising York's vaccination programme, confirmed yesterday afternoon, however, that fresh supplies of vaccine had been delivered, and vaccination of medically vulnerable people and others in group 6 was due to resume on the red site today

She said that nationally, more than two thirds of 'priority group 5' patients (those aged 65 to 69) had now had their first Covid jab. Locally, the figure is even better.

"Our teams in York have been working extremely hard and we are pleased to be slightly ahead of this statistic," she said.

Nimbuscare operates two vaccination sites at Askham Bar. One is the 'national' vaccination centre (coded blue) which is booked via a national booking line. The area is used to vaccinate people who live within a 45 minute drive of the site (including people from York who book their jab using the national booking line) and has continued all to innoculate people who are 65 and over.

The second site at Askham Bar is the 'local' vaccination centre, coded red, which is for York patients from the 11 GP practices represented by Nimbuscare only. It is this centre that has been innoculating Group 6 patients, and where innoculations were temporarily suspended.