Concerns raised after vaccine clinics cancelled due to supply issues

Vulnerable people aged 80-and-over in the Lisburn area were left disappointed by the cancellation of several vaccination clinics that had been set to take place yesterday and today.

The News Letter understands the clinics were cancelled due to an issue with supplies.

DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he had been contacted by several worried elderly people following the cancellations.

“I’m very concerned about the situation in Lisburn health centre. I’ve had a number of my constituents in touch who are aged 80 and over who had appointments scheduled for their vaccine, and now those appointments have been postponed due to the lack of availability of the vaccine,” he said.

The Lagan Valley MP said it is “unfair” that “elderly and vulnerable people” had been forced to wait after having already been given appointments.

The Health and Social Care Board and the Royal College of GPs in Northern Ireland, meanwhile, has sought to reassure patients that fresh stocks of the vaccine have already arrived with more on the way before the end of the month.

First Minister Arlene Foster last night insisted that everyone over 80 should have their vaccination soon as she praised “the robust and efficient” roll-out she said was the “envy of other jurisdictions”.

Mr Donaldson continued: “I would urge the Department of Health to look into this urgently. Many people are placing their hope on this vaccination programme. If we are not getting the vaccines out to the GPs on the frontline then that is a serious issue that needs urgently resolved.

“It is not fair on these elderly and vulnerable people that they are having their vaccinations postponed.”

The DUP man acknowledged, however, that the vaccine roll-out appears to be going well overall.

“Hopefully this is just down to a short-term problem within the distribution system,” he said. “These issues do need to be addressed because we must not allow local communities to be left behind. Overall I think we can say that Northern Ireland has benefited from being part of the United Kingdom as we are well ahead of any major European country in terms of our vaccination programme.”

Dr Laurence Dorman, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners NI, said: “While it is disappointing to hear that any local vaccine clinics have had to be postponed, we are not aware of any significant delays in the delivery of the vaccine to practices and would hope that any problems will be resolved in the coming days.”

Dr Dorman said that, despite the supply issues, the roll-out of the vaccine by GPs has been “going well” so far.

“GP practices have been working hard to arrange and facilitate vaccine clinics at short notice, and I appreciate how frustrating it is for practice staff and patients when things don’t quite go to plan,” he said.

“To date, despite the supply issues, the vaccine roll-out has been going well with over 35,000 patients aged 80-and-over vaccinated. We remain optimistic that GPs can vaccinate their staff and patients aged 80 and over before the end of this month, but it will depend on the reliable supply of vaccines.”

The head of general medical services at the Health and Social Care Board, Dr Margaret O’Brien, said: “I want to reassure everyone who is eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccination that they will receive the vaccine.

“We have already received and are expecting more vaccine supplies in the coming weeks to enable GPs and practice staff to roll out what is the most comprehensive vaccination programme in recent times. To date, 55% of people aged 80 and older have been vaccinated by GPs.”

Dr O’Brien added: “We are working on our third delivery of the vaccination which is expected in the last week of January and which we expect will be able to meet GPs requirements to vaccinate all the over-80s.”