Local doctor voices concern about delay of Covid-19 vaccines in county
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A Caithness GP has expressed concern about a delay in Covid-19 vaccines being delivered to the county.
Dr Alison Brooks, of the Thurso and Halkirk Medical Practice, said she feared they would not get the first doses of vaccine until late January.
However, a Scottish Government spokesman said timescales for distributing the recently approved Oxford vaccine, which will involve GPs, were still being worked out by health boards.
Dr Brooks said: "It is just really worrying – we thought we would actually be vaccinating our over-80s before Christmas," said Dr Alison Brooks. "It now looks like we are not getting our first delivery until the third or fourth week in January. We could be talking about the 27th.
"I think this is a more worrying time now than when we had the rising number in March. It is more worrying because of the spread of this new strain.
"We do not have the capacity in the Highlands to cope with the numbers. Surely if we could strike now we could try and prevent that happening rather than rolling it out once things are out of control."
Dr Brooks went on: "I am really disappointed with the roll-out in Scotland. There is going to be a problem with supply."
But the Scottish Government spokesman said the Pfizer vaccine, which was approved before Christmas, had "not been planned for deployment in GP settings in Scotland due to its complex logistical challenges".
Dr Brooks pointed out that many over-80s in England had been vaccinated two weeks before Christmas, with areas such as Devon and Dorset carrying out 3500 vaccines in just one weekend and they were about to do second doses.
"Our patients have not had a first dose – it is really disappointing. We have a vaccine approved, it is just trying to get it," Dr Brooks said.
She explained that some hospital staff had been vaccinated, with local care homes also recently getting vaccines. However, none of her GPs or staff had received any, nor patients.
"It is way too slow off the ground," Dr Brooks said. "The numbers are increasing here. I do not know whether the new strain is up here – it is spreading so quickly.
"There are certainly more being tested. We have had a lot more positive cases in December than we had in the whole of the outbreak earlier on last year."
She stated that at the end of November and beginning of December they had been quite prepared to set up vaccination centres locally with plans to use the games hall at Thurso High School, and possibly doing similar at Wick High School or using the Assembly Rooms.
"We came up with ideas," she explained. "We would work 12-hour shifts at weekends just trying to get through as many patients as we could. There is no point setting that up if we do not have the stock.
"All the practices were going to work together and Dounreay offered to support us, but here we are."
The last communication the local practice received about delivery of the vaccine was on Christmas Eve. They were then told they should start receiving supplies from January 6.
Once they do receive the delivery, clinical staff and GPs are supposed to be vaccinated first. They are hoping to get about 100 vaccines each week.
Dr Brooks said: "We want to get on as soon as we can. It is going to be very piecemeal – a drip-feeding of the vaccine."
However, a Scottish Government spokesman said these figures were untrue.
"The recently approved Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be rolled out in GP practices, although we are still awaiting certainty on the delivery schedules," he said. "When we have further information about the timescales, we will contact GPs to inform them of the doses that will be made available for them, and expected timescales.
"The doses of the vaccine available to health boards fluctuate depending on supply, but NHS Highland will have a share of vaccines based on NHS Highland’s population profile."
The spokesman added: "Vaccinations using both the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine and the AstraZeneca vaccine will be rolled out as per the JCVI priority list to ensure that those in the most vulnerable categories will receive it first.
"Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, the AstraZeneca one can be delivered in GP surgeries as it can be stored in standard medical refrigeration systems at 2-8 degrees C.
"Health boards have been working with their local GP surgeries to identify those who wish to participate in the vaccination programme and continue to update them on the roll out, as well as other community settings.”
Dr Brooks urged people to stick to the lockdown rules and said she was also concerned about a lack of protection for the police, who she felt had not been mentioned anywhere. "They are often there before the ambulance but yet there is no mention of them being vaccinated," she said. "I feel quite strongly about that. We rely on them for protection yet they are not being protected."
NHS Highland announced on December 31 that it would be changing the dosing schedule of Covid-19 vaccinations in Highland.
A spokesperson said: "We are rescheduling clinics to reach as many people as possible with the first dose, prioritising health and care workers working with Covid-positive patients, and people aged over 80. Please do not call your GP or NHS Highland – you will be contacted directly when you are due to be vaccinated."
This followed the Joint Committee on Vaccination Immunisation (JCVI) and the chief medical officers of all four UK nations recommending that the second dose of Covid-19 vaccinations take place in the 12th week after the first dose.
