Eight hospital trusts in South East to start coronavirus vaccinations
Eight hospital trusts across the Thames Valley and the South East are among those that will become hubs to distribute the coronavirus vaccine.
The UK became the first country in the world to give the go-ahead to the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech on Wednesday, paving the way for vaccinations to start next week.
Hospital trusts in the Meridian region:
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust
Dorset County Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
East Kent Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
Medway NHS Foundation Trust
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Portsmouth Hospital University Trust
Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said the jab has to be stored at such low temperatures that it can only be moved a few times.
He told a Downing Street briefing that the first people to receive the jab from 50 hospital hubs next week would be the over-80s, care home staff and others identified by the JCVI who may already have a hospital appointment.
GP practices will then operate local vaccination centres as more vaccine becomes available and, if regulators give approval for a safe way of splitting packs, care homes will receive stocks, he added.
Sir Simon said it would take until March or April for the entire at-risk population to be vaccinated.