Leek over 18s offered vaccine amid India variant surge

People queued for vaccinations at Moorlands Hospital on Monday

Over 18s are being urged to have the Covid-19 vaccination amid a spike in cases of the India variant.

A pop-up vaccination centre has opened at Moorlands Hospital in Leek, Staffordshire.

Vaccines will be available from 7 to 16 June to anyone over 18, who lives in the town.

Increased testing has been taking place, after a surge in coronavirus cases linked to two schools and a college.

Thirty-one people, with links to Westwood College, St Edward's Middle School and Leek High School, tested positive for the virus, Staffordshire County Council said, with 19 of them found to have the variant, now named Delta by the World Health Organization (WHO).

It led to almost 1,000 pupils and staff self-isolating.

Staffordshire's Director of Public Health Dr Richard Harling said there were now 63 confirmed cases associated with the outbreak, 24 of which were of the variant.

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There have been close to 3,000 tests performed on people in the town over the last week, he said.

The majority of cases have been in younger people and so far all cases found have been "either mild or asymptomatic" he added.

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Over 18s can book a vaccine at the pop-up centre, but must bring proof of identity showing their home address.

"The reason for vaccinating 18 to 30-year-olds is just to vaccinate the maximum number of adults possible," Dr Harling said.

"The more people in Leek we can get vaccinated, the greater the chance we can stop the virus spreading."

PCR tests are also being offered at JCB Cheadle, on Monday, in a bid to identify how the variant has spread.