Covid: Vaccination fears over pharmacy absences in Worcestershire

A vaccination clinic in Redditch almost did not happen on Thursday due to staff absences, Mr Kohlia said

A pharmacist said the Covid-19 vaccination scheme could stall due to NHS staff and volunteers having to self-isolate.

Mo Kolia, at Knights Pharmacy in Redditch, said 25 staff were absent on Thursday at 10 pharmacies in the West Midlands.

He called for more action to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Health bosses in Worcestershire said nearly 73% of adults had had a booster jab.

Having dozens of staff off at his branches due to Covid-19 had created "significant pressures" on pharmacy services, Mr Kolia said.

Without help from other workers and volunteers, he said he did not know "whether we would be able to have a vaccination clinic in Redditch today".

Elsewhere, a vaccination clinic in Wolverhampton has temporarily closed from Thursday due to the number of staff having to self-isolate because of Covid infections.

The Alfred Squire Road Health Centre will remain shut until 4 January, the City of Wolverhampton Council said.

Mr Kolia said the government needed to bring in more restrictions to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.

"I would not be surprised if some sites are reducing their number of vaccination appointments," he added.

"I am flabbergasted we are watching this happen in front of our eyes and we are saying we are going to wait until January until we even think of further restrictions," Mr Kolia added.

• How can I get a Covid booster?

• What are the symptoms of Omicron?

England is the only part of the UK which has not introduced post-Christmas measures to curb the spread of Omicron.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said people should enjoy new year celebrations in a "sensible way", telling people to "take a test... but above all get a booster".

Across the UK 183,037 daily cases were reported on Wednesday, with more than 900,000 cases reported over the last seven days - up 41.4% on the week before.

In the Worcestershire County Council area, the rate of Covid-19 cases has risen almost 50% week-on-week, with 904 new infections per 100,000 people for the seven days up to and including 24 December.

Despite that, the number of patients in hospitals in the county with Covid has remained steady in recent months.

The clinical commissioning group in Worcestershire thanked staff and volunteers for giving nearly three-quarters of eligible adults their booster jab.

Their "monumental efforts" included a 24-hour booster session at the Artrix Centre, in Bromsgrove, alongside walk-in and pop-up clinics, health bosses said.