The roll-out of Guernsey’s COVID-19 vaccination programme commenced on 17th December 2020 following the arrival of the first consignment of 975 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
Once taken from the -70c storage freezer, the vaccine can only be stored for 5 days. As a result, the vaccinators ran the vaccine clinics from Thursday to Sunday for the first cohort.
Of the 975 vaccine doses available, 968 vaccine doses have been delivered. The vaccine is provided with an assumed 20% wastage for every 975 doses. The fact that this first cohort only had 7 unused doses (0.7% wastage) is a credit to the vaccinators delivering the
programme.
The 968 doses were administered as follows:
- 350 to care home staff
- 50 to Medical Specialist Group frontline staff
- 30 to Primary Care doctors and nurses
- 25 to Dentists & Hygienists
- 25 To paramedics, ambulance technicians and first responders
- 30 To Alderney & Sark
- 328 to Acute staff/mental health ward staff/and Allied Health Professionals.
- 130 to Social care staff, including district nurses, domiciliary care staff and private carers.
The vaccinators for the first group were made up of specialist public health nurses (this includes school nurses and health visitors), together with HSC ward and community staff, nurses, doctors and midwives.
Dr Nicola Brink, Director of Public Health said: “The roll-out of the vaccine over the weekend was extremely successful. The atmosphere at the end of the last clinic was one of great satisfaction. We were able to maximise delivery of the doses we received in the first delivery with staff in the hospital being canvassed at the end of the clinic to ensure all doses could be used.
“We have had excellent take up from those who have been offered the vaccine so far. No one who has received the vaccine so far has experienced any adverse reactions.
“I would like to extend our thanks to all the vaccinators and administrative staff who have made this possible in such a short period of time.”
The Bailiwick received a second consignment of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine last week (another 975 doses). These have been stored to provide the second dose for the cohort who received their first dose last week.
Further consignments of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will be delivered to the Bailiwick in January.
As other candidate vaccines are given approval for use by the MHRA, they will be considered by the Committee for Health & Social Care for designation for use in the Bailiwick. If it is approved for use in the Bailiwick, our procurement teams will ensure that we receive our
agreed allocation of vaccines from the UK and it will be supplied using our tried and tested supply chains.
