GPs in the North of Ireland are planning to deliver Covid-19 vaccines for people aged over 80 who do not live in care homes from January 4, 2021 and onwards.
Doctors have been advised to “assume” the GP vaccination programme will begin on that date.
Approval is anticipated for two vaccines in the coming weeks.
On Saturday, the Department of Health reported nine more coronavirus-related deaths and 315 new cases of the virus in the North of Ireland.
It brings the department’s overall death toll, which is based on deaths from any cause within 28 days of a positive test – to 983.
There have been a further 44 positive cases and one furthr death in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area bringing its total number of deaths in hospitals to 77.
In the latest update about the North of Ireland’s vaccination programme, GPs have been asked to identify all patients who are 80 or over on 1 January 2021 and do not reside in a care home to prepare for the roll-out.
A letter sent to GP practices said “there is a need to plan for the earliest possible commencement” of the programme.
The letter, first reported in The Irish News, was issued by the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB).
It advises that patients receiving the vaccine will require “15 minutes of direct observation” following the injection.
Leisure centres are among venues proposed for the delivery.
It said GPs will be central to the programme’s roll-out, with the North of Ireland “relying” on them along with health trusts to “urgently” begin administering the doses once the drugs are licensed.
The initiative is a “major undertaking” by GP practices to “help bring the pandemic under control” according to the head of general medical services at the HSCB, Dr Margaret O’Brien.
“Whilst clarity is still required on a number of issues, including the date of approval and delivery of the vaccine, the exact storage requirements and priority groups, the situation is developing at pace and there is a need to plan for the earliest possible commencement of the vaccination programme,” said Dr O’Brien.
“We do however have enough information to be able to start to plan for a Covid-19 vaccination programme.”
Vaccine developers at both Pfizer and AstraZeneca are submitting full data to regulators to apply for emergency approval so that countries can start using these different vaccines to immunise whole populations.
Patients will receive two doses of the vaccine, 28 days apart and it may not be possible to administer the vaccine while recipients are in their car, the letter to GPs states.
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