Patients and residents in Warwickshire urged to get Covid-19 vaccination when is their turn to do so

Healthcare leaders across Coventry and Warwickshire are calling for patients and members of the public to get the Covid-19 vaccination when it is their turn to do so.

Patients aged 80 and over, care home staff and care home residents are the first to receive the vaccination, as advised by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, who decide the order in which people will receive the vaccine.

Gradually, more people will be invited by the NHS to receive the vaccine at a local hub.

More than 12 thousand people in Coventry and Warwickshire have received the vaccination so far at 'primary care network' sites.

The roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine comes after the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine were approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in December 2020.

The MHRA is an independent body made up of experts who have studied the data and assessed the vaccines in the same way they do for hundreds of others each year.

Dr Sarah Raistrick, GP and Chair of Coventry and Rugby CCG and Warwickshire North CCG, said: “I want to reassure patients that the Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective, and the same steps have been taken as for any other vaccine.

"The process for approving the vaccine has simply been done in the shortest time possible, without bypassing any of the usual stages.

“The Covid-19 vaccine is quick, free and effective, and I would urge anybody who receives an invitation to get the vaccination. It could save yours and your families lives.”