COVID Vaccinations Update - 17 September 2021

Update from Head of Primary Care Services

NHS Orkney will be responsible for delivering COVID vaccinations to all patients registered with a GP Practice in Orkney.

We are working hard to set up clinics.  Provisionally we are looking at the arrangements set out below which will be confirmed as quickly as possible.   All patients who fall into these categories will be sent a letter inviting them in for an appointment.

Clinically Extremely Vulnerable – this cohort of patients requires a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccination before receiving their booster vaccination in a further six months’ time.   We are currently planning to deliver these on 29 and 30 September.   Please note this does not mean that everyone who has previously been shielding will require this.  This only relates to patients with specific medical reasons.  We anticipate approximately 350 patients will fall into this category. 

12-15 years old – we again are in the planning phase but anticipate inviting this cohort of patients in for vaccination over the weekend of 2 and 3 October.  This will not be carried out in the school setting as we are very aware that parents may want to attend with their child/children.

COVID-19 Boosters – eligible patients will start to be invited in to receive a COVID-19 booster.  We have been asked to initially prioritise flu vaccinations.   COVID-19 vaccination boosters can only be given 24 weeks after a patient’s second COVID-19 vaccination.   As such the main cohort of patients who currently fall into this category are care home staff, care home residents, frontline health and social care staff, and patients aged 80 and over. 

We are working with care home managers to ensure all residents are vaccinated as they become eligible.  If possible, we will offer both COVD-19 and flu vaccinations at the same time with the consent of the patient or their guardian.   Likewise this may be offered to any housebound patients who are due a COVID-19 booster and have yet to receive their flu vaccination.

Health and social care staff will be informed of how they will receive their vaccination.  Care home staff will be prioritised in the first instance.

A larger COVID-19 vaccination booster campaign will start in late October/early November once the routine flu and higher priority COVID-19 vaccinations have been completed.  We will inform patients nearer to the time about the invite process for these.  There will be a requirement to offer booster vaccinations to approx. 13,700 patients.

Please note that anyone who has yet to have a COVID-19 vaccination can still receive one by phoning 0300 303 5313.

I hope this goes some way to explain our planning processes and that Orkney residents can understand the workload and additional complex planning that staff in Primary Care are currently undertaking.  I do genuinely appreciate and understand that patients would always prefer to have their vaccines given as close to home as possible.  However as a result of all the work and complexity of the delivery programme, I need to personally ask you as a community to once again help us by asking you to travel in for mass vaccination clinic settings when required as this helps us to be able to administer more vaccinations in a streamlined way.  We will of course be willing to help any patient who genuinely cannot manage to get in and will detail in our invite letters what to do in this situation.

Everyone who has worked as part of the vaccination team have been extremely grateful to you all over recent months for your support and kind words as we moved to deliver the previous COVID-19 vaccination programme.  I hope you can continue to support us whilst we move to this next phase of what is a significant and challenging Flu and COVID-19 vaccination programme. 

Thank you so much.

Maureen Firth

Head of Primary Care Services