NHS Lanarkshire is on track to get frontline staff fully vaccinated as quickly as possible.
To date, staff vaccination clinics have vaccinated over 29,000 frontline workers with their first dose and over 14,000 with their second dose.
The first staff vaccinations started in Lanarkshire on the 10th of December once the Pfizer vaccine had arrived.
Kay Japp, Principal Occupational Health Nurse with NHS Lanarkshire said: “By November 2020 we were aware that a vaccine would soon be available, and planning for clinics started quickly.
“The first phase of the programme included frontline health and social care workers who were at an increased personal risk of exposure to infection with COVID-19 and of transmitting the infection to susceptible and vulnerable patients.
“Once we’d worked through frontline staff, we then worked through the tiers adding other groups as directed.
“This work has been achieved with real team effort and mutual support through a time of continual changes and challenges. All staff have been positive and supportive, and it could not have been done without their help”
When vaccines started rolling out it soon became clear that staff were eager to be vaccinated and clinics were full and busy from the day they opened. More than 3,000 staff are being vaccinated each week and these clinics are expected to continue up until the middle of May in order to get through all front line staff members.
However, even though the national situation appears to be improving and more people are being vaccinated the advice is still clear from the Scottish Government:
- Stay local
- Wear a face covering
- Avoid crowded places
- Sanitise hands and surfaces regularly
- Stay 2m away from other people
- Self-isolate and book a test if you have Covid-19 symptoms
