Tag Archives: Surrey Heartlands

Surrey Heartlands Covid-19 Vaccination Programme Partner Update

I received this update yesterday from Surrey Heartlands:

Bad weather update
Snow and flood warnings are in place for parts of Surrey this weekend (6/7 February). Our Covid-19 vaccination services are currently expected to run as normal but if this changes we’ll share any updates on our website here. In case of adverse weather, we would ask people to travel safely and if they can’t attend, please don’t worry, we’ll be in touch to reschedule. For those attending, we would like to remind you (just in case of any queuing although this will be kept to a minimum) to:

  • Dress warmly
  • Try to arrive on time but not early
  • If you are coming by car and are early, please stay in your car until close to your appointment time
  • Bring a warm drink in a flask

Latest data
The latest published data here shows we have now delivered a total of 148,294 first dose vaccinations across Surrey Heartlands (up to 31 January). Our latest infographic below shows more detail; the graphic is also available on our website here.

In conversation with Dr Sally Johnson
Dr Sally Johnson, GP and clinical lead for our vaccination programme, answers lots of common questions and myth busts in this latest video which you can watch here. (Subtitles can be activated by clicking on the CC button along the bottom row of the video).

Latest FAQs

You can find a comprehensive set of FAQs on the local programme on our website hereIn the meantime, we will regularly publish the answers to some of the most common/latest questions here.

How are you choosing who to vaccinate when?

We are currently offering the COVID-19 vaccine to people in JCVI priority groups 1 to 4.  We are hoping to complete these priority groups by the middle of February.  These include:

  • all those 80 years of age and over
    • we are proactively contacting anyone who has not yet been vaccinated by telephoning and writing to them.  We are reviewing all GP lists to ensure we have not missed anyone
  • frontline health and social care workers
  • all those 75 years of age and over
  • all those 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals.
    • People with the following conditions are automatically deemed clinically extremely vulnerable:
      • solid organ transplant recipients
      • people with specific cancers
      • people with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy
      • people with lung cancer who are undergoing radical radiotherapy
      • people with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment
      • people having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer
      • people having other targeted cancer treatments that can affect the immune system, such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors
      • people who have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs
      • people with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
      • people with rare diseases that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), homozygous sickle cell disease)
      • people on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection
      • problems with your spleen, for example splenectomy (having your spleen removed)
      • adults with Down’s Syndrome
      • adults on dialysis or with chronic kidney disease (stage 5)
      • women who are pregnant with significant heart disease, congenital or acquired
      • other people who have also been classed as clinically extremely vulnerable, based on clinical judgement and an assessment of their needs. GPs and hospital clinicians have been provided with guidance to support these decisions
      • If someone considers themselves to be clinically extremely vulnerable but their clinical condition is not included in the list above, they are advised to contact their GP or specialist to discuss.

Useful links

FAQs

·       NHS.UK Covid-19 vaccine

·       GOV.UK Covid-19 vaccination programme

·       Data release

·       Information on priority groups

Surrey Heartlands vaccinations update today

Update from Surrey Heartlands today.

NHS confirms Covid jab now offered at every eligible care home in England

Earlier this week NHS England announced that the Covid-19 vaccination has been offered in over 10,000 care homes with older residents. More information here. In Surrey/Surrey Heartlands we have now visited all care homes with the exception of three (due to local outbreaks), all of whom will be visited by 6th February.

Published vaccination data

NHS England publishes vaccination data for England here which you might like to bookmark as a favourite. The weekly data is broken down by health and care system and age band, currently defined as 80+ and under 80 years old, and the count of vaccinations by dose and ethnicity. The daily data gives a total figure for England and is broken down by region – i.e. for us that would be across the South East.

Latest FAQs


You can find a comprehensive set of FAQs on the local programme on our website here. In the meantime, we will regularly publish the answers to some of the most common/latest questions here.

Why has the second dose interval been extended to 12 weeks?
• Throughout this global pandemic we have always been guided by the latest scientific advice. Having studied evidence on both the Pfizer/ BioNTech and Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccines the JCVI (Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisations) has advised that we should prioritise giving as many people in at-risk groups their first dose, rather than providing two doses in as short a time as possible.
• Evidence shows that one dose of either vaccine provides a high level of protection from Covid-19. This is because even with just one dose the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been estimated to offer 89% effectiveness from two weeks after it is given, and the Oxford/AstraZeneca 74% effectiveness from two weeks after it is given.
• For both vaccines, data provided to MHRA demonstrate that whilst efficacy is optimised when a second dose is administered both offer considerable protection after a single dose, at least in the short term. For both vaccines the second dose completes the course and is likely to be important for longer term protection
• The NHS across the UK will prioritise giving the first dose of the vaccine to those in the most high-risk groups. Everyone will still receive their second dose and this will be within 12 weeks of their first. The second dose completes the course and is important for longer term protection.
As the Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Jonathan Van Tam, has said: “The evidence clearly shows vaccinated individuals get almost complete protection after the first dose. Simply put, every time we vaccinate someone a second time, we are not vaccinating someone else for the first time. It means we are missing an opportunity to greatly reduce the chances of the most vulnerable people getting severely ill from Covid-19. If a family has two elderly grandparents and there are two vaccines available, it is better to give both 89 per cent than to give one 95 per cent protection with two quick doses, and the other grandparent no protection at all.”

As a local health and care system, we are following the advice from the Government’s Chief Medical Officers.

Useful links

·       FAQs

·       NHS.UK Covid-19 vaccine

·       GOV.UK Covid-19 vaccination programme

·       Data release ·       Information on priority groups