'It's brought hope to our communities' - chief praises vaccine teams in South Tyneside after care home worker jab rates revealed

Health Secretary Matt Hanock announced last week that the jabs would become compulsory for staff at care homes in England.

Once regulations are approved by Parliament, workers will have 16 weeks to get both doses.

Figures revealed shortly afterwards that South Tyneside looks among the best-prepared in the country, with figures showing 89.5% of eligible staff in the borough’s care homes have had at least one dose, meaning it ranks eighth in England.

Now South Tyneside Council has praised everyone involved in the vaccination programme in the borough.

Councillor Anne Hetherington, Lead Member for Independence and Wellbeing, said: “The Covid-19 vaccine has brought hope to everyone in our communities and this is particularly true for our older people who have been at greatest risk from the virus.

“I am delighted that so many of our care workers have had the vaccine, protecting both themselves and those around them.

"The vaccination programme has been a massive success with more than half the population of South Tyneside now fully vaccinated.

"This is no mean feat and I would like to place my thanks on record to the doctors, nurses, volunteers, marshals and the Clinical Commissioning Group and Primary Care Networks who, with the help and support from the council, have worked so hard together to make this happen.

“However, we are not yet done with Covid. I would encourage people to continue to follow the public health guidance and get their second dose of the vaccine when invited.”

Matt Brown, executive director of operations at NHS South Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), had already offered praise for the teams.

In an earlier statement, he said: "Our vaccine teams moved quickly to ensure care home staff and residents are as safe as possible, and there is no doubt that this has saved many lives locally. We owe a big thanks to vaccinators across the NHS, South Tyneside Council and the care homes who have worked so hard to make this a success.

"With the Delta variant now spreading in our region, it's more important than ever for all of us to have the second jab to stop the spread and be as safe as we can be."

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