HOUSEBOUND residents and people in their early 70s in Wyre Forest are being contacted to receive the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine as local GP practices make their way down the cohort priority list set out by the government.

As of January 19, GP surgeries under the Wyre Forest Health Partnership had administered just under 8,000 Covid-19 jabs to people in the over-80s and over-75s categories, including all eligible care home residents.

Over-70s are next on the list, as well as people who are classed as housebound, meaning doctors' surgery staff will now be tasked with arranging for those residents to receive the first dose in their homes.

Clare Nock, chief executive officer at the Wyre Forest Health Partnership, said her team had been working on ways to administer vaccines to more people.

She said: "Our next job is to contact those who are housebound to arrange appointments. The difficulty there is that they will take longer to do as it's a different setting.

"We'll now be looking at whether all of these patients really are housebound of whether they could get to the practice with some help, as that would mean we could get the vaccinations done a lot quicker.

"We've just done a trial of a drive-through clinic on Monday in Hagley, which saw people being vaccinated in their cars, which went well.

"That was a test to see if that could work so that we can do the most with the time we've got."

Stourport Health Centre was in the first wave of the vaccination roll-out, meaning its first vials were delivered on December 14, while Kidderminster Medical Centre's arrived more recently.

Hume Street Medical Centre was in wave two of the roll-out.

Mrs Nock explained that both GP groups were dependent on central supplies of the vaccine to run clinics.

Wyre Forest Health Partnership is asking people to wait to receive a text about booking in for the vaccine before contacting the practices.

Mrs Nock said: "Our message to patients is to look out for the text, tell family members to look out for the text so that they are aware, and be aware that we will never ask for any money - only for a date of birth.

"We've had people responding saying that they don't believe the text messages are real so we want people to have confidence in the system we're using.

"We are working our way through the age cohorts. Some people have been ringing to say their neighbour has had their vaccine but they haven't. We want people to know that we are trying very hard to be fair and systematic."

Bosses say patients are not being offered a choice on which vaccine they receive - Pfizer BioNTech vaccine or Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine - as national guidance states that the most readily available vaccine should be given.

The Health Partnership has asked that people not turn up early for their appointments to avoid overcrowding, and is also updating its policy on face masks, meaning those unable to wear a face covering will receive their jab outside of the practice buildings.

Mrs Nock said: "The wearing of face masks in indoor public areas is mandated by the government. We need to keep our staff and other patients safe.

"We are incredibly slick with our system so people coming in for their vaccine will not have to wear a mask for very long

"We have had reports from other patients that people not wearing masks has made them feel uncomfortable.

"Carers that can’t wear a face mask will be asked to wait outside and we will look after the patient ourselves while they are inside the practice.

"For patients who can’t wear a mask, we will be administering the jab outside."

The Partnership is not expecting to start administering second doses of the vaccine until March.

Paying tribute to the Partnership staff's hard work over the past month, Mrs Nock said: "This has been a massive effort that would not have been possible without our tremendous team of staff and their willingness to help and adapt.

"Many have worked weekends. We had 37 staff working on vaccinations a couple of weekends ago. Our staff have been magnificent.

"Patients too have been incredibly grateful to our staff in our clinics.

"If patients want to know how they can help – follow the hands, face, space advice."