Roll out of Coronavirus Vaccine welcomed

Bedford Borough Council has welcomed the roll out of the Coronavirus vaccine but warned we must all continue to follow existing guidelines to reduce the spread of the virus.

The first wave of doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to prevent the spread of Coronavirus have been administered with people aged over 80, health and social care staff eligible to receive it. Initially the vaccine is being administered in hospitals before being rolled out to community settings.

While this week represents the start of the vaccination process it is expected to take many months for the majority of the population to be immunised. To prevent the spread and continue to protect our friends, family and the NHS everyone is urged to continue following 'Hands, Face, Space' advice and limit their contact with others.

Dave Hodgson, Mayor of Bedford Borough, said "The roll out of this vaccine, following safety approval by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority (MHRA), is fantastic news in the fight against Coronavirus. Vaccines are our best defence against the virus and are essential if we want to get back to normal and meet with our friends and family like we used to. We will be working with our colleagues in the NHS as they roll out the vaccine locally. It's important that priority groups, the vulnerable and the people who look after them are protected first, so it will be some time before the vaccine reaches the majority of the population."

Councillor Louise Jackson, Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder, added "While the vaccine is being rolled out it's vital that we all continue to follow the advice about the action we must all take to stop the virus spreading. We've all made huge sacrifices over the last year to protect each other, we can't let that all be wasted now. Please continue to wash your hands regularly and for 20 seconds, wear a face covering where you can, keep 2 metres distance from those you don't live with and limit your contact with others outside your household. Taking action together we can stop the virus spreading and get back to doing the things we all want to do as soon as possible."

A short video about the importance of vaccines in the fight against disease from Professor Johnathan Van Tam is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZIaUVu0rGw&feature=emb_logo