I was delighted to be invited to visit the Manchester Rugby Club last week, where the vaccine drive continues. Amongst the staff there, I met Dr Louise Monk, a local GP who is leading the effort at Manchester Rugby Club, and Nurse Jenny, a former school nurse who has singlehandedly administered more than 1,500 vaccines!
Our vaccine roll out in our area is going from strength to strength. At Manchester Rugby Club alone, more than 25,000 jabs have been administered, giving hope and protection to all of us.
Stockport Borough is doing a fantastic job vaccinating people. 96% of residents aged 70yrs and above have been vaccinated, and more than 60% of all adults have received a jab in our area. Well over a quarter of adults in our community have had their second dose, too.
A huge thank you is in order to Manchester Rugby Club for allowing the use of their building and facilities. They have been incredibly accommodating, even rearranging events to ensure that the vaccine drive continues on course. Thanks to them, thousands of people are being vaccinated daily in our region.
On top of this, there is an army of volunteers staffing the centre with support from local shops and organisations who have donated everything from water bottles, to gazebos, to sand bags, to cakes and other baked goods to keep spirits high. Our Rotary Club have also donated their time, high vis jackets and other equipment, too!
The volunteers have been fantastic - their varied work has included directing people on site, moving and even ‘jump starting’ cars, carrying out administrative tasks and for those who are trained, vaccinations. Some of them have even been juggling university degrees and full time jobs around this new commitment. As one volunteer said to me - this is a community effort!
A huge benefit of the vaccine roll out has been the work that the primary care network - GPs and pharmacies - have been doing together. The vaccine roll out has offered the opportunity for more joint work amongst the network, and I can’t wait to see the local healthcare benefits which will come from this immense effort.
The vaccine roll out is going so well, and we remain on target to offer all adults a vaccination by the end of July. And in our area, it really has been a community effort. From volunteers rearranging their working hours, to insurers agreeing to extra vehicle cover to assist the vaccine effort, to sports clubs giving up their venues, to all the volunteers and medical personnel that staff the hubs - thank you so much!
