"It was overwhelmingly positive": Sheffield GP praises response to Covid vaccinations

Dr Andrew Douglas has been working at Beighton medical centre as part of the Townships primary care network, which has been delivering the Pfizer vaccine to around 500 over-80s a day since Saturday (January 16).

As Beighton is an area with a high number of people in the mst vulnerable age group, Dr Douglas and his practice have a lot to get through, however he said that the first few days were a positive start.

"It was amazing to see these people come out,” he said. “We have not been able to see them much except in emergencies for almost a year because they have been shielding and isolating.

"They were all so positive and have been so stoic. They were so happy to be able to talk to people face to face. It was brilliant.

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"I was very surprised, because you see people spreading rumours on Facebook and you worry that obody wants the vaccine.

"But everybody apart from one person was 100 per cent up for it. And that one person was okay once I explained it from a medical point of view and explained that the side effects, if there are any, are only very minor flu symptoms.

“The people who came out were overwhelmingly positive.”

Dr Douglas added that the organisation at his PCN had ensured the smooth running of the vaccination programme so far.

"Beighton is not a surgery that is open usually. It is one the PCN had built but had not been using,” he explained. “So we had ane mpty surgery to go straight into. It was ideal for us.

"We were ready to go. Getting the vaccine supply is not as easy as you would think, and you are often told at late notice. So we only knew we would be getting ours about a week beforehand.

"Our team and the practice manager have been great at organising it. Everybody came together from different surgeries in the PCN, which is quite a rare thing and has not been done before now.”

GP praises Sheffield's vaccination progress and says rollout will get faster

Dr Douglas added that he thought the rollout of the first dose of the vaccine in Sheffield would get faster as more vaccine was delivered.

"We have been told that we are getting two more deliveries of the Pfizer vaccine, so we enough for the next 7 – 10 days,” he said.

"We can continue the rollout at 500 a day, which means we will quickly get through a lot of people in the area. And there will be big vaccinations at the arena as well, so I imagine it will get faster.”

It may slow down when the second doses start to be rolled out in 12 weeks, he added.

Dr Douglas also wished to add that the Move More project in Sheffield, which he is involved with, has made an advice pack for elderly people on how to keep active at home during lockdown.

These will be available at vaccination centres for people to pick up. They are free and do not require the internet in any way.