Prof Mike Holmes column: 'We will be ramping up our capacity at the site'

"It’s a year since we became the first country in the world to approve Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine and launch our NHS vaccination programme. I remember it well. We were delighted when York was chosen to become one of the first six national vaccination Centres. As Margaret Keenan became the first person in the world to receive her vaccination on 8 December, here in York we were working flat out to prepare the Askham Bar vaccination centre ready for the team to deliver their first Covid vaccinations.

In the run up to Christmas 2020 we worked through the night to transform the vaccination centre from a drive-through site, to what you see today.

Since then, more than 117m vaccinations have been administrated, saving countless lives. The UKHSA estimate that 127,500 deaths and 24,144,000 infections have been prevented as a result of the Covid vaccination programme, Here in our region we’ve now done 3 million Covid vaccinations and this week we hit our target to deliver half a million booster jabs.

As we prepare for another hard winter, it’s pleasing to hear that new deals have been secured for an additional 60 million doses of the Moderna vaccine and 54 million Pfizer doses for 2022 and 2023.

It’s also pleasing to see the public responding to the call to action to come and get their booster jabs as we expand the booster programme, in the light of the new Omicron variant. We’ve been busy on site, particularly at weekends, as people play their part to protect themselves and their families.

People are advised, as ever, to book their jabs using the NBS. If slots are not currently available more appointments are being added all of the time.

There is plenty of capacity within the system for booked appointments. We have good availability including late nights and weekends.

Of course, we now have new targets to deliver and we’re preparing for the increase in demand. Details are still being confirmed, but we will be ramping up our capacity at the site with support from additional vaccinator and volunteer teams. As before, when we were offering up to 4,000 jabs a day, we’re welcoming the army, retired clinicians and other support teams. It’s a big ask, but we’ve done it before and we can do it again.

Nimbuscare continues to go out into our community too and our teams have now vaccinated more than 3,000 young people in schools. We’re attending ante natal clinics at the hospital to ensure pregnant women are fully vaccinated. And our teams are also attending community centres across the city to offer the flu vaccine to vulnerable and homeless people.

Last week we held a Christmas ‘lighting up’ event at the Askham Bar Health Village, to thank our amazing volunteers for their commitment and support over the year. We couldn’t do what we do without the help of these teams who give up their time, during rain or shine. And thanks to Amanda, one of our volunteers, who went on national radio last week to help us urge more people to join us. We need more Amandas to join Team Nimbus ,so get in touch via our website if you think you can help.

We’ve built a very special GP healthcare provider organisation here in York which is delivering real improvements to patient care. I feel a real sense of ‘collective togetherness’ across the City and we are extremely proud of our achievements to date. Nimbuscare has been embraced by the people of York and the inter-sector relationships that have been formed bode well for the future

This week I spoke to other health leaders about Nimbuscare’s ‘At Scale’ model when I was asked to speak at the World Health Organisation’ conference on Quality of Care in Athens. It was a huge privilege to be asked to present at the conference. As the NHS reforms, more organisations like Nimbuscare will be forming. We’re at the forefront – others are watching and learning from what’s happening here in York and that is certainly something to be positive about."