MP fears Warrington’s COVID-19 vaccine supplies could be cut by a third

WARRINGTON North MP Charlotte Nichols has raised fears the town’s COVID-19 vaccine supplies could be cut by a third due to shortages elsewhere in the country.

It follows a national Health Service Journal report which states the cuts are seemingly due to national shortages and the need for other regions to catch up with vaccinating their priority groups, although Warrington South MP Andy Carter says the claims are “unfounded.”
Now Nichols has called on Health Secretary Matt Hancock to ‘urgently rectify’ a situation which she fears could see Warrington’s supply of vaccines cut be a third.
Her comments come after Health Service Journal reported yesterday (Tuesday) that the North West’s supply of the COVID-19 vaccine could be cut by a third in February.
Commenting on the reports, Ms Nichols said: “If there is to be a fall in the supply of vaccines then this should be dealt with proportionately across the country, the North West should not be punished for its quick progress.
“The Health Service Journal would not report this story to scaremonger, this is a real concern and is very much in line with the Government’s cynical attitude towards the North West, beyond its rhetoric of ‘levelling up.’
“Matt Hancock must urgently rectify this situation and ensure that Warrington gets our fair share of the vaccine. I will fight hard to ensure that this is delivered.”
In response to the concerns Mr Carter said: “So far the NHS has delivered around 24,000 vaccinations in Warrington and last week a further vaccination centre opened in Bewsey in addition to the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Orford Hub and Warrington Hospital. The systems are working well and uptake is excellent.
“The NHS has to make sure that the North West has the vaccine deliveries it needs to hit the mid-February target for offering a vaccine to the top 4 cohorts of the most at risk, residents of care homes and staff, Health and Social Care workers anyone over the age of 70 plus those who are clinically extremely vulnerable. That is a commitment.
“We’ve seen these stories pop up in different regions each week, jumped on by opposition politicians who make all sorts of claims which end up being unfounded.
“Our region will not lose out to other parts of the country and rightly all regions will get their fair share through our National Health Service,” he added.
Dr Laura Mount, Clinical Director of Central and West Warrington Primary Care Network added: “Our local vaccination programme has got off to a strong start with the majority of our over 80s and care home residents having received their first dose of the vaccine. While the progress of the programme does depend upon supply of vaccine we receive, we are confident that we will have sufficient stocks to vaccinate local Warrington patients in the top four priority groups by mid-February. We have been assured that we will have enough supply to vaccinate patients in the rest of the priority cohorts that follow later in the vaccination programme.”