Islanders urged to help over-80s book vaccines

Fort Regent. Coronavirus Covid-19 Vaccination Centre in the Queen’s Hall (Rotunda). Registered nurse, Becky Sherrington, head of the vaccine programme Picture: ROB CURRIE

Those aged 80 and above will be able to book appointments through the government’s online booking portal, which is provisionally scheduled to be operational from Thursday.

Covid vaccination programme lead Becky Sherrington urged Islanders to make sure that older relatives and friends were aware that they could soon be vaccinated.

‘We are asking everyone to help family, friends and neighbours who are aged 80 and above to book their slot once the portal goes live and the link is made public,’ she said.

‘More information will follow on government channels and through the media on how to do this so please be having those conversations this week to make them aware that they can be vaccinated soon if they wish.’

A government spokesperson said that those booking appointments online would need the Social Security number of the person being vaccinated.

Anyone who is unable to book online will be able to call the coronavirus helpline and the spokesperson added that ‘we are currently working with the parish halls, as they would like to support us in this campaign too’.

Jersey will also be falling in line with the UK’s new strategy to roll out the vaccine to as many people as possible, rather than administering doses three weeks apart.

The spokesperson added: ‘We can now leave a period of up to 12 weeks between doses, which will mean we can vaccinate more people with the first dose sooner.

‘It is better to vaccinate as many people as possible with the first dose as this begins to create herd immunity quicker. In Jersey, we are hoping to issue the second dose within ten weeks where possible.’

Both the Pfizer-BioNTech jab, first administered in Jersey on 13 December, and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine – which received regulatory approval last Wednesday [30 December] – are to be used during January.

The spokesperson said that the first stocks of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine were anticipated, although it was not yet possible to say how many doses would arrive in each delivery or how often deliveries would occur.

Deputy medical officer of health Dr Ivan Muscat has previously said that he hoped half of Jersey’s population would have been vaccinated by April, with this group including all over-50s and anyone under 50 classed as vulnerable.

So far, carers in care homes, domestic care workers, funeral workers, healthcare staff, GPs, vaccinators and dentists have been offered jabs, alongside a limited number of operational staff managing the government’s frontline Covid response.

A spokesperson said that vaccinations for operational staff had only been given in ‘less than a handful of cases’ at the end of the fifth day after the Pfizer vaccine had been thawed, explaining that this prevented any doses being thrown away and wasted.

In contrast to the Pfizer vaccine, which must be kept at -70°C, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored in standard refrigeration units.

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