Professor Mike Holmes, who leads York’s Covid mass vaccination centre, tells how 300,000 jabs have now been delivered and are helping to reduce the number of cases and hospital admissions

EVERY week the NHS is asked to step up to a new challenge and our teams here in York never fail to amaze me at how they tackle each one.

This week many were disappointed that the final step on the roadmap to the end of lockdown restrictions could not be taken on June 21 meaning we all have to sit tight and adhere to the restrictions and guidelines for another few weeks.

Our teams at Nimbuscare and within our GP practice members feel it too, but there has been a renewed vigour this week as we pass yet more key milestones.

On Friday, we started to vaccinate 18 year olds as nationally the NHS began to invite all adults 18 and over to get their jabs.

This is a huge milestone in the vaccination programme, just six months after we delivered the first dose at the Askham Bar vaccination centre.

In those six months we have delivered more than 300,000 vaccines and in this region we have hit our two millionth vaccination this weekend.

Nationally around 60 per cent of the eligible population have now had two doses of the vaccine which is fantastic.

Our region is on course to meet the targets set by the government and we need people to attend for their second doses to do this.

We know that two doses are effective at preventing hospital admissions against the more transmissible Delta variant as they were against the Alpha, or Kent, variant.

We are beginning to feel the success of the vaccination programme as we see fewer cases and hospital transmissions amongst those people who have been vaccinated.

So far 91 per cent of people aged 50 and over have received both doses of the vaccine in England.

More than 750 patients attended our two pop-up vaccination clinics held at the University of York last week.

It was great to see students and local people turn up to get their jab – some having just received their text messages inviting them the night before.

People like 18-year old Hannah, a student at the university who brought along a thank you card which she had made for our team.

It’s these moments which make it all worthwhile and I’m humbled by the kindness of many of our patients.

We have already vaccinated 27 per cent of people aged between 18 and 30 here in North Yorkshire and in the Vale of York with their first dose.

Going forward, we will be holding more pop-clinics and walk in clinics in the city, working with the university, colleges, City of York Council and GP practices.

We will also be holding walk in clinics in some of our city centre surgeries too and more information about this will be available on our website.

If you’re 40 or over and haven’t yet had your first vaccine, you can now walk in to our York Vaccination Centre anytime between 8am and 8pm and we will be happy to give you your jab – it’s not too late.