More than 200,000 Covid jabs administered in Cheshire and Merseyside

The latest figures from NHS England show that 174,592 people across the two counties had their first jab by January 17, including 80,366 aged over 80, while 26,628 people had also received their second jab.

With a total of 202,220 jabs administered in Cheshire and Merseyside, the area is the second-highest performing NHS region in the country, beaten only by Cumbria and the north east, where 271,536 jabs were administered by January 17.

Tracey Cole, NHS Cheshire clinical commissioning group’s (CCG) executive director of strategy and partnerships, said: “Vaccination is the best way out of this pandemic.

Tracey Cole

"The Covid-19 vaccination programme is the largest vaccination programme in British history and it has taken an epic feat of heroic will to get to where we are now – with 23 vaccination sites up-and-running across Cheshire – while also continuing to run other services to support our residents.

“Thank you to everyone involved in this – staff, volunteers and patients who are coming forward in their thousands to receive a vaccination.”

Supported by hundreds of volunteers, 18 GP-led vaccination centres are now live across Cheshire, along with four hospital hubs and a pharmacy in Macclesfield, with further pharmacy-led sites planned for Winsford, Crewe and Alsager.

Eligible Cheshire residents may also be invited for a vaccination at regional vaccination sites – such as those in Manchester and St Helens – but this is optional and residents can choose to wait for a site closer to home instead.

Edward Timpson, Conservative MP for Eddisbury, has praised the speed of the vaccination roll-out in Cheshire.

Edward Timpson

He said: "The NHS vaccination programme, the biggest in our country’s history, has got off to a fantastic start thanks to the hard work of all of those involved.

"It’s great to see that so many people in Cheshire have received the vaccine as we lead the world in our fight back against coronavirus.

"I am pleased that Cheshire is amongst the top preforming areas in the country on vaccine distribution.

"I look forward to getting my vaccine over the coming months – and I urge everyone to do the same when they get the call up."

Dr Andrew Wilson, chairman of NHS Cheshire CCG, added: "The Covid-19 vaccination programme offers a great beacon of hope for all of us, but it is important to remember that we are still in the middle of a very serious pandemic which is putting health and care services under tremendous pressure.

Dr Andrew Wilson

"Behind every statistic are sad stories of lost loved ones and we must never forget that.

"There are reasons for optimism, however, not least due to the fantastic community effort that is helping to fuel Cheshire’s drive to vaccinate our most vulnerable."