THE millionth Covid vaccination first dose will be given this week in the region - as supplies of all vaccines improve.

Professor Mike Holmes, who runs York’s mass vaccination centre at Monk Bar, says there is now "good availability" of the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines.

Writing in his weekly column for The Press, he says that in York and North Yorkshire, more than 72 per cent of 40 to 49-year-olds have been jabbed and nearly 15 per cent of 30 to 39-year-olds have received their first dose.

He said that in the coming week, the one millionth first dose vaccine would be delivered in the Humber Coast and Vale region.

Prof Holmes said that while unvaccinated adults aged 30-39 who were not high risk were now being offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine, he wanted to make it clear the AstraZeneca jab could still be given to them - "providing they understand the risk/benefits and give consent".

He also urged people to take time to download the NHSApp this week, as this was where they would find proof of their vaccination status. “It’s very easy to do if you have a smart phone and is also very useful for viewing your medical record and ordering repeat prescriptions,” he said.

Prof Holmes said that sadly, in spite of the "incredible work" being done, general practice had taken the brunt of negative media attention in the past week and on a personal level this felt "disheartening".

He said there was a lack of understanding about the role general practice had played during the pandemic and, having been at the heart of its response – both as the vice chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners and as a partner at Haxby Group in York, Hull and Scarborough - he "couldn’t have been more proud of my profession".

He said the levels of stress and fatigue within primary care were already higher that the national average before the pandemic and he could guarantee they were much higher now, and general practice had led the most widespread and successful vaccination campaign in UK history, adding: “So when headlines suggest we are failing our patients, it hurts and it’s simply inaccurate.”

l The column is on page 16.