Doncaster residents offered vaccines in places as far away as York, Leeds and Bradford

Hatfield councillor Derek Smith made the admission shortly after Dr Rupert Suckling updated elected members on the borough’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Director of public health at Doncaster Council, Dr Rupert Suckling, said that people could wait for a more local offer if a trip outside of the borough was not taken up.

Over 20,000 Covid-19 jabs have been successfully administered in Doncaster as the vaccination programme continues to roll-out, with health leaders aiming for a target of 70,000 by the middle of February.

Doncaster is said to be on track to deliver first doses of Covid-19 jabs to the majority of those over 80, 75 and 70 as well as frontline health and social care workers in February.

This also includes care home residents, their respective staff, as well as those who are defined as ‘extremely clinically vulnerable’ due to an existing or long-standing health condition.

Coun Smith said: “An element in respect of the vaccines that’s being raised by members is about the distance that people being offered the vaccines, being expected to travel from Doncaster to places like York, Bradford and Leeds.”

Dr Sucking said: “I am aware from a number of other councillors about the confusion from the national NHS letter to some in those top four groups, potentially being invited to a mass vaccination site.

“The letter does say that people do not have to take that option they can wait for a local offer for vaccination, and all five local vaccination sites are operational in Doncaster, and we have had assurance that subject to vaccine supply, all people in those top four groups will receive it off with a vaccine by February 15.

“So I think this is one of the challenges I’ve mentioned earlier where sometimes national decision makers in national systems are not close enough to the local situation.

“There were no mass vaccination sites currently very close to Doncaster so my advice to people in those age groups is to wait for the local invitation from the local NHS to a local vaccination site.

“We’ve got the vaccinators there ready to go. They’re just waiting for the vaccine supply.”

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