I have asked the Health Secretary to treat the Island as a priority to support the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Health teams. I thank all those who have been involved in getting the vaccine to those who need it.
As of 7 January 2021, Public Health have confirmed that between 3,500 and 4,000 Islanders have received their first vaccination (2.9% of the Island population). By 15 January, this rose to at least 12,000. The island has continued to receive supplies this week and we expect further supplies next week. My understanding is that we are ahead of national average.
The first vaccination site opened at Carisbrooke last month, followed shortly afterwards by West Wight Sport and Community Centre. Further sites at the Bay Medical Practice and Westridge Centre in Ryde have also opened. A large vaccination site at the Riverside Centre is due to open shortly and I am in daily discussions with Government to press for an early supply of vaccines to be made available. This will result in up to 500 more vaccinations carried out daily. Currently, this plan is to operate the Riverside Centre in conjunction with the other four centres.
Due to the five-day shelf-life of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine and batching in 975-doses, only sites that could deliver this vaccine within the correct timescale were included in the initial rollout. The box of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine contains 195 vials and it has been found that doctors and nurses can get six good doses from each vial, instead of the five previously predicted. This means that 1150 doses are available per box, instead of 975. The introduction of the Oxford vaccine with give greater flexibility and may also allow for pharmacies to get involved in the next stages of the rollout. The Oxford vaccine comes in 300-400 dose containers but as with the Pfizer vaccine, it has been found that we can get more doses out of every vial, which means we can vaccinate more people per shipment than first thought.
The Island has an elderly population so we are potentially more vulnerable than other areas. As a result, I have asked for additional support from the Health Secretary. I have also requested more data to be made available to assist with future planning of the vaccine rollout. It is important, as a democracy, that as much information as possible is published and I have told ministers of the need for transparency.
By Friday 15 January 2021, over 3 million doses have been given throughout the UK. By the end of next week, I am hoping that 20,000 Islanders may have been vaccinated, although this is clearly dependant on vaccine flow and therefore, I am wary of stating hard and fast commitments until we have managed to achieve them.
I am hugely grateful to everyone involved. This should result in a significant fall in mortality and hospitalisation rates in the next few weeks which means we can start planning a return to a new normal.