'Huge team effort' sees 100,000 coronavirus jabs given by Wigan GPs and hospitals trust

The work of the borough's GPs and Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, combined with the vaccinations delivered by community pharmacies and clinics outside the borough, means the total number of residents vaccinated now stands at 145,000.

This collective effort has included more 300 volunteer marshals and support staff and hundreds of vaccinators, covering a total of 2,375 shifts. More than 11,000 vials of vaccine have been dispensed.

More than 99 per cent of those aged 80 and over have now had their first vaccine and 95 per cent of those aged 60 and over. The programme of second vaccinations started last week.

“A huge thank you also has to go to the residents who have chosen to take up the offer of the vaccine. Every vaccine counts and by having your vaccine you are protecting yourself, but also increasing the protection of your loved ones and the wider community.

“With over 25m people being vaccinated in this country, the evidence now clearly shows that these vaccines are safe and that they do massively reduce the risk of getting seriously ill or dying from Covid-19, so if you are eligible and you haven’t yet been vaccinated, please do come forward and contact your GP practice so we can get you booked in. If you are on the fence and are unsure whether it is right for you, please again speak to your practice and they will be happy to talk it through with you.”

Richard Mundon, director of strategy and planning, and lead director for the vaccine programme at the hospitals, said: “To vaccinate so many people in this short timescale and up against the biggest challenge the NHS has ever faced just proves the immense effort across the Healthier Wigan Partnership.

“As a trust, we will be forever grateful to the teams behind the scenes, their work on the preparation, co-ordination and delivery is truly humbling and has contributed to the enormous collective effort to help protect our population.

“The hard work to beat this deadly virus must and will continue, but it’s important to remember to take stock, reflect and thank everyone for everything they have done so far.”

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