Lancashire GP's give first vaccines to pensioners as county-wide roll-out begins

The first coronavirus vaccines to be administered by local GP's have been taking place across Lancashire this morning (Tuesday, December 15).
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Plucky pensioners in Chorley arrived at their local GP practice at 8am, with Marjory Martin, aged in her 80s, the first to be vaccinated just a few minutes later.

"I'm looking forward to the vaccine getting the country back up and running," said Marjory, moments after she was vaccinated by clinical pharmacist James Mawdsley.

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Marjory (pictured), accompanied by her son, left the surgery sporting a heart sticker that said, "I've had my Covid vaccination".

The first vaccination took place at just after 8am this morning (Tuesday, December 15) when clinical pharmacist James Mawdsley vaccinated Marjory Martin. She said she was "looking forward to vaccine getting the country back up and running."The first vaccination took place at just after 8am this morning (Tuesday, December 15) when clinical pharmacist James Mawdsley vaccinated Marjory Martin. She said she was "looking forward to vaccine getting the country back up and running."
The first vaccination took place at just after 8am this morning (Tuesday, December 15) when clinical pharmacist James Mawdsley vaccinated Marjory Martin. She said she was "looking forward to vaccine getting the country back up and running."

An eager Olive McCann (pictured) was next to receive the potentially life-saving jab at Chorley Surgery in Gillibrand Street.

She said: "I’m looking forward to it. It will make me safe and able to go out more."

Dr Shashidhar Khandavalli, GP at The Chorley Surgery and clinical director for the Chorley Central Primary Care Network, said: "It is an incredibly proud day for our Network and the whole team who have worked tirelessly to help our patients.

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"It is time for all of us to play our part and if you are contacted to receive the vaccine, please do take part and we look forward to welcoming you."

Lancashire pensioner Olive McCann received her Pfizer/BioNTEch vaccine at her local GP surgery this morning. "I’m looking forward to it. It will make me safe and able to go out more," said Olive.Lancashire pensioner Olive McCann received her Pfizer/BioNTEch vaccine at her local GP surgery this morning. "I’m looking forward to it. It will make me safe and able to go out more," said Olive.
Lancashire pensioner Olive McCann received her Pfizer/BioNTEch vaccine at her local GP surgery this morning. "I’m looking forward to it. It will make me safe and able to go out more," said Olive.

GP practices across Lancashire - including, Preston, Chorley, Burnley, Blackpool and Lytham St Annes - will also begin vaccinating patients over 80 years of age from today (Tuesday, December 15).

Lancashire's clinical commissioning groups have not provided a full list of GP practices offering the vaccine at this stage, but some local surgeries have already confirmed their role in the mass vaccination programme. This includes Chorley Surgery, Buckshaw Village Surgery, Lytham Primary Care Centre and Marton Medical Practice in Blackpool.

Sites in Accrington, Blackburn, Lancaster and Ormskirk will open from Wednesday, December 16, and more sites are set to begin rolling out the vaccine later in the week.

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Jane Scattergood, Covid-19 Vaccination director for Lancashire and South Cumbria, said: "It is fantastic that we are now able to start delivering vaccinations within community settings locally and we would like to say a huge thank you to the teams of Primary Care colleagues who are working together across Lancashire and South Cumbria to make this happen.

Dr Shashidhar Khandavalli, (image not from this morning), a local GP and clinical director for the Chorley Central Primary Care Network, said: "It is an incredibly proud day for the whole team who have worked tirelessly to help our patients."Dr Shashidhar Khandavalli, (image not from this morning), a local GP and clinical director for the Chorley Central Primary Care Network, said: "It is an incredibly proud day for the whole team who have worked tirelessly to help our patients."
Dr Shashidhar Khandavalli, (image not from this morning), a local GP and clinical director for the Chorley Central Primary Care Network, said: "It is an incredibly proud day for the whole team who have worked tirelessly to help our patients."

"The programme will continue to expand over the coming days, weeks and months, bringing vaccination much closer to everyone - but this will be a marathon, not a sprint."

The public have been reminded not to contact the NHS to try and book a vaccine, as local GP's will contact people in the priority groups when it is their turn to receive the vaccine.

You can find the full priority list for those eligible for a vaccine in our report below...

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