Covid vaccines should not be given through the night, say Sheffield councillors

Councillors are worried about the potential risks of elderly and vulnerable people queueing into the early hours to get vaccinated.

Coun Jayne Dunn told a scrutiny board: “I am split on whether we should be vaccinating 24/7 for health and safety reasons, if people are showing up at night, how do we make sure that is safe?

“There’s a big push to just vaccinate every hour of the day and we have to make sure we keep momentum up but I think we need to take a step back and consider this.”

Coun Gail Smith added: “I don’t think it’s realistic to be vaccinating people in the middle of the night.”

Director of Public Health Greg Fell agreed. “I honestly think that, given a free hand, we will get there, the vaccine will get into the hands of most GPs and they will treat it like standard flu jab.

“This year we got 85 per cent coverage of flu vaccination in the over 65s, they are unheard of levels. As a result, there’s almost no people in hospital with flu which is also unheard of.

“I don’t think there’s much pharmacy vaccination with the Covid job at the moment in Sheffield but we’ll probably get there and that massively speeds up the implementation.”

Heeley-Plus Primary Care Network set up a vaccination hub at the Mathews Practice in Highfield and administered 2,500 doses in less than four days.

Director Dr Ollie Hart said earlier this week that everyone in the city could “easily” be vaccinated within two months as long as the supply and deployment of vaccines was sufficient.

Mr Fell thought this was possible but “very optimistic”.

“Let’s not underestimate this, it’s certainly the biggest logistical exercise the NHS has ever undertaken.

“It is doing it to speed, it won’t be perfect all the time, there will be bumps in the road and it will take a few months to get a fully vaccinated population.”

READ MORE:

- Help create a permanent historical record of beautiful Sheffield bath house

- MP expenses 2020: these politicians claimed the most in expenses last year

- Permission granted for Sheffield car showroom to be converted into offices

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.