Covid-19 vaccination: 'Logistical issue' causes Bedfordshire delay

One GP surgery's website said "there is a great deal of work being done behind the scenes to make this work"

The roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccination programme has been delayed across some parts of Bedfordshire due to a "logistical issue".

Patients had been told vaccinations were to start at The Rufus Centre in Flitwick on Tuesday.

The centre, which serves Ampthill, Flitwick and Barton, will now open on Monday, 18 January.

Some patients will instead be invited to attend a mass vaccination centre in Stevenage in Hertfordshire.

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One surgery whose patients will be affected is Houghton Close surgery in Ampthill.

Some patients who would have been attended the Rufus Centre this week will now have the opportunity to attend the mass vaccination centre in Stevenage

On its website, it said it had been hoping to start vaccinations from 12 January at The Rufus Centre "but unfortunately this has been delayed due to a logistical issue".

The statement added: "Please note that this vaccination programme is far more involved than the usual annual flu clinics and there is a great deal of work being done behind the scenes to make this work."

The practice said it would telephone patients who were over 80 and mobile, so they could book their appointments.

The Stevenage mass vaccination centre is one of just seven such centres in the country.

NHS for Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes said patients who received letters informing them of the delay in Flitwick should not be concerned.

"There are vaccination centres opening across the country to give people choice, depending on where they live," it said.

"Vaccination centres are available through groups of GP surgeries in Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire as well as in Milton Keynes and Luton.

"Your GP will invite you to attend a more local clinic should this be more convenient for you."

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