NHS Cheshire confident of hitting all-adult vaccine target

That’s according to Clare Watson, Accountable Officer of NHS Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group — the body running the roll-out.

The news comes as the latest NHS England data shows that more than three-quarters of Cheshire and Merseyside’s over-65 population have had their first jab.

That figure comprises 77 per cent of 65-69 year olds being completed, 96 per cent of those aged 70-74, 98 per cent of the 75-79 age bracket, and 94 per cent of 80-plus year olds. 14 per cent of over-80s have had both doses.

Ms Watson told Cheshire West’s Covid-19 Outbreak Board on Wednesday (February 24): “We are confident in terms of capacity, in terms of primary care network sites, and in terms of vaccination centres that we have the right capacity overall.

CCGs within Cheshire and Merseyside's progress among adults. Data: NHS England

“The big challenge is cohort 10, which is 16-49 year olds by July 31. We understand that that cohort is going to be age-stratified and risk-stratified in the coming weeks because they do not want to open it up in one go.

“We are on track to deliver that. We have got great workers and lots of capacity to vaccinate patients.

“They will all be offered their vaccine by the end of July.”

In Cheshire alone, 37 per cent of all over-16s have now had their first dose of the jab.

Data: NHS England

Cheshire West Council Chief Executive Andrew Lewis added: “We were proud to announce that 100,000 people as of today have had the vaccine in our borough. The council is continuing to work with our local GPs and with the mass vaccine centres.

“We are dealing with 800 cases per day but capable of doing 2,000 per day at the Chester racecourse site. It does have space.”

Across England, 15,441,149 doses have been delivered as of February 21, the data shows.