Covid-19: Newcastle care home vaccination claim wrong

Health bosses said last week all care home residents had been vaccinated

Not all of Newcastle's care home residents have had a Covid vaccine, despite an announcement they had.

Newcastle City Council and Newcastle Hospitals Trust said on Friday the city was among the "first places in the UK to vaccinate all care home residents".

But a meeting of academics and business leaders has been told some were unable to get a jab for "various reasons".

Adult social care director Alison McDowell said these included illness and mental capacity issues.

Vaccinations have taken place at every care home in Newcastle but the council could not give an exact number for those who had missed out, she told the City Futures Board.

It was revealed earlier this week that some care home staff had yet to receive their first vaccination.

There were "mop-up sessions" for anyone still waiting, Ms McDowell said.

"But I absolutely understand that sometimes a really good headline of a really strong and positive vaccination programme that has happened with all of the partners could accidentally confuse some people," she said.

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Meanwhile, the council's public health director, Prof Eugene Milne, said the faster-spreading UK coronavirus variant now accounted for 60-70% of cases in the North East.

Rates were still "far too high" and seem to have plateaued in Newcastle, despite dropping in the last few days, he said.

While more easily transmitted, the variant is not thought to cause more severe illness or be more resistant to vaccines, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

South Tees public health chief Mark Adams said it was slightly more prevalent in Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland than in other parts of the region, at about 75%, but it was not clear why.