HUNDREDS of people have been given their first coronavirus jab in Leominster today, with the hardworking NHS relieved to be able to do so.
Six GP surgeries from north Herefordshire, and Tenbury Wells, have come together to offer Covid-19 vaccinations at Leominster's Bridge Street Sports Centre, and have been working at the site on several days since mid-December.
The north and west Herefordshire primary care network set-up the site, with many working late into the night, so patients in the top priority groups can be jabbed.
Working with the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccination on Thursday, Kington Medical Practice GP Dr Silvana McCaffrey said patients from a vast rural area were being seen at the central site.
While there is hope to be able to offer the jabs at doctors' surgeries closer to patients' homes, restrictions with transporting particularly the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine mean a central site is the most feasible option to avoid waste.
She said it was "amazing" to be able to get the vaccines out to the community, with 720 patients being seen on Thursday alone.
"This is our first day of AstraZeneca, so this is the first time we've used this particular type of vaccine," Dr McCaffrey said.
"But everyday that we do the clinic is an emotional day, and it's emotional because there are many people here that we won't have seen for six months and we're finally in a room together.
"It's emotional for the staff, it's emotional for the patients. A lot of these patients won't have gone outside their houses.
"The only places they've been is to their surgeries for their flu jab and then to the Covid centre, so it is emotional. You realise no life is expendable.
"Herefordshire is one of the most rural counties in the country and so often people struggle to imagine what kind of areas we cover.
"Our network covers from Stockton-on-Teme to Richard's Castle in the north, to Leominster and Leysters, Kington, Weobley and Staunton, and some of our Kington patients are over the Welsh border.
"It's a vast, vast area we have to cover which is why we need to use a very large centre."
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While some people living on the Welsh border could face more than a 15-mile trip to the clinic, one patient from Kington said she was just happy to finally get her jab.
Wendy Mantle, 86, said it was a testament to the NHS how quickly plans have been put in place to start administering the jabs.
"The numbers are horrifying at the moment," Mrs Mantle added.
"The way the scientists are bought this vaccine forward is incredible."
She was one the patients to arrive by car, fill out a short medical questionnaire before going into the sports hall.
Like others, Mrs Mantle was then directed to one of the vaccinators who gave her the injection, before another worker completes the admin.
While there is hope vaccine clinics could be run in more locations by GP surgeries in the north and west Herefordshire primary care network, rules for moving the doses makes it tricky.
Dr McCaffrey added: "Obviously you want the vaccine you give to be effective, and the Pfizer vaccine has incredibly strict rules on how many times you can move it, and it has to be kept between two and eight degrees.
"Once it's at eight degrees you cannot move it again, so that's why we have to have a central area where we've got all the vaccine equipment and we can deliver the vaccine in this area while people are safe receiving it.
"We've got a large seating area as for the Pfizer vaccine you need to sit for 15 minutes afterwards, and we have to maintain a social distance to keep people safe. You need a very large space to do that in."
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