Media Release
Date: 8 December 2020
COVID-19 vaccine advice
People living in the Bath, Somerset and Wiltshire area who are eligible for the coronavirus vaccine should wait to be contacted by the NHS, instead of calling their local hospital or GP practice directly.
The advice comes as the NHS prepares to deliver the first batch of vaccines for Covid-19, which were officially approved for use by the medicines regulator last week and started delivery on Tuesday 8 December.
First in line for the vaccine will be people aged 80 and over, who are already expected to attend hospital, as well as care home staff and the frontline NHS workers most at-risk.
The rollout of the vaccine is a huge logistical challenge, and comes at a time when the NHS is already managing ongoing coronavirus-related challenges, as well as traditional winter pressures. Vaccines are being delivered to the first cohort of 50 hospital hubs across the country who will begin vaccinating patients this week. The Royal United Hospitals, Bath, is prepared to receive and administer the vaccine when it is delivered.
Local people can show their support for the operation by waiting to be contacted with instructions of how to receive the vaccine, while continuing to observe the current social distancing guidance.
The physical process of giving the vaccine will be a marathon and not a sprint, with vaccinations taking place over the next few months.
More information on the vaccine can be found online at www.nhs.uk