Cumbria's Covid vaccine distribution 'chaotic', says council leader

South Cumbria was placed in the top five areas for the percentage of over 80s given their first vaccine dose

Cumbria's council leader has hit out at the "chaos" in which Covid vaccines are being distributed in the county.

Labour's Stewart Young said health services were finding it "difficult" to plan their rollout due to changes in how many vaccines were being allocated.

The North West NHS region, which includes south Cumbria only, will see a reduction of about 100,000 vaccines in the second week of February.

An NHS spokesperson said vaccinations were "fairly allocated week by week".

Mr Young called on the government to ensure more supplies were secured.

Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccine minister, said the programme was on track to deliver a first dose to 15m of the most vulnerable by mid-February and to offer all adults their first dose by autumn.

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The North West NHS region received slightly more than 300,000 vaccines a week in the latter half of January, which is set to be reduced to about 200,000 in the second week of February, NHS England confirmed

Mr Young said the vaccine rollout in the county had been one of the most effective in England and a reduction felt "like a kick in the teeth for Cumbria".

"To now find out that the county will be penalised for that success will rightly frustrate local people who are waiting patiently for their turn," he added.

He said Cumbria had "never been clear in advance" how much vaccine it was set to get, making it difficult for GP practices to plan, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Mr Young said the planned reduction "throws it all into doubt" whether Cumbria will meet its vaccination targets.

John Stevenson, Conservative MP for Carlisle, said vaccination targets were "always challenging" and stressed that Cumbria had done "extremely well to date".

"We are all in this together, and one part of the country should not be monopolising supplies to the detriment of another part of the country," he added.

Vaccine distribution is co-ordinated by NHS England. North Cumbria's NHS services fall under the North East and Yorkshire NHS region, which has also been reported to face reductions.

A spokesperson for the NHS in the North East and Yorkshire said "vaccines are not being diverted - they are being fairly allocated week by week".

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