Norton Canes pharmacy becomes latest site to offer Covid vaccination
A Staffordshire pharmacy has become one of the latest venues to carry out the coronavirus vaccinations.
Nucare Pharmacy in Burntwood Road, Norton Canes, opened as a vaccination hub on Wednesday.
It is one of 200 pharmacies that have been selected across the country to administer the Covid-19 vaccine.
The first phase of vaccination will be for those aged 75 and over, it will be extended as and when more doses are available.
Pharmacist Kameljit Dhinsa said: "We have been administering the vaccinations since Wednesday and it has been running really well. We were chosen as one of 200 pharmacies in the UK to run this service – and so far it has been running really well.
"We are tremendously proud to be able to offer this service to the people of Norton Canes. I am also tremendously proud of our team here that have supported us to get to this stage – it has been a lot of hard work to ensure we met all the deadlines and assurances.
"Throughout the organisation we are exciting and very proud to be part of the national effort to vaccinate against coronavirus."
He added: "We aiming to carry out a minimum of 2016 vaccinations within the first seven days of us opening as a hub.
"We've been carrying out 288 a day at the moment, but we have the capacity to do 500 vaccinations a day if we have got the supply. It would be every five minutes as we are open 8am to 8pm seven days a week.
"It has been a terrible year for everyone and the vaccination gives people hope. Not only people but for businesses, the hospitality industry, the travel industry – everyone has suffered."
It comes as the vaccination efforts accelerate across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent – with two community sites, 23 GP-led vaccinations sites, sites within hospitals to vaccinate frontline NHS and care home staff and some patients, and pharmacy-led sites.
Neil Carr, senior responsible officer for the vaccination programme, said: "Staff and volunteers are working tirelessly across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent to vaccinate as many as possible, and this has now surpassed 143,000.
“This is now over 86 per cent of people aged over 80, with all to have been offered a vaccine shortly.”
