Health Secretary Matt Hancock faced embarrassment on Thursday when a GP surgery he visited to promote the rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine revealed it had not yet received any doses. Mr Hancock visited Bloomsbury Surgery in central London to mark the start of the vaccine's distribution to GP practices across England.
However, Dr Ammara Hughes, a partner at the surgery, told Sky News that its first delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine had been delayed by 24 hours to Thursday. She expressed frustration, stating the surgery had the capacity to vaccinate 3,000 to 4,000 patients a week but lacked a regular supply.
Mr Hancock acknowledged that the 'rate-limiting step' in the vaccination programme was supply from manufacturers. He said the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine was now being supplied to GP surgeries across the country, following initial use in hospitals to ensure it was working well.
The rollout comes as UK hospitals face rising numbers of seriously ill patients, with 30,451 people in hospital with coronavirus as of January 4, surpassing the April peak of 21,684. NHS trusts in London are reportedly on the verge of being overwhelmed, with some converting normal wards into intensive care units.
Professor Rupert Pearse, a consultant at the Royal London Hospital, warned that ICU staff are being stretched, with one nurse now caring for three patients instead of the usual one-to-one ratio. He urged the public to adhere to lockdown measures to ease pressure on the health service.
