Covid: Vaccine rollout in Lincolnshire care homes complete

Tens of thousands of jabs have been given to residents and staff at all 202 care homes for the elderly in Lincolnshire

All care homes for the elderly in Lincolnshire have now received the first dose of the Covid vaccine, according to health bosses.

Lincolnshire's assistant director of public health Tony McGinty said the news was "incredibly heartening".

He said tens of thousands of jabs had been given to staff and residents in more than 200 care homes in a matter of weeks.

All that remained was "a bit of mopping up", he said.

'Massive effort'

Talking about the programme, Mr McGinty said: "We know these vaccines are going to help people who come into contact with the virus in the coming months fight it off far more readily.

"And they will be far less likely to become really ill and, god forbid, die.

"[The team] have done incredibly well, we're talking tens of thousands of vaccines delivered from the day the first one became available just before Christmas, and we're not even at the end of January yet.

"It's been a massive effort by the vaccinators and the care homes, mobilising themselves to get vaccinated," he added.

Mr McGinty said efforts were now turning to elderly people in the community who were not able to access vaccination sites, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service,

Figures released on Thursday showed there were 49,633 jabs given in the county between 8 December and 17 January, with about half being given to the over-80s.

Care home residents and staff were placed top of the priority list to be vaccinated - as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

• A SIMPLE GUIDE: How do I protect myself?

• AVOIDING CONTACT: The rules on self-isolation and exercise

• HOPE AND LOSS: Your coronavirus stories

• LOOK-UP TOOL: Check cases in your area

• STRESS: How to look after your mental health

More news from across Lincolnshire