Dr Nick Balac, local GP and chair of Barnsley CCG share's the big step forward for COVID-19 vaccination roll out in Barnsley:

Since our last vaccination update, we have continued to make excellent progress in vaccinating the majority of our most vulnerable residents and front-line health and care staff in Barnsley. We have been running vaccination services pretty much every day of the week in some form across Barnsley and luckily we didn’t have the disruption from snow last week which we were worried about!

This week marks a big step in the vaccination programme. We had a huge push over the past couple of weeks to make sure we offered the vaccine to everyone over 70, and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and have had the letter to shield. It’s important to know that if you are in these groups, and you couldn’t or didn’t want your vaccine when you were contacted, you can still come forward and have one.

So the next big step is that from this week, people in priority groups five and six are being invited by the NHS to have their vaccine. These are people aged 65 to 69 and then all individuals aged 16 years to 64 years with certain clinical conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease. These are classed as clinically vulnerable. This group includes people for example who have had an organ transplant, people with diabetes, people who have had a stroke or people living with dementia.

Local GP vaccination services are focusing  on the clinically vulnerable from group 6 because of the relationship between general practice and those with long term conditions, and continuity of care. Anyone in this group should wait to be contacted over the coming weeks by their GP practice.

If you’re aged 65 to 69, the national NHS vaccination booking team will be writing to offer you an appointment. This will be at one of the larger vaccination centres such as Sheffield Arena. The easiest way to arrange an appointment for Sheffield Arena is through the national booking service online, which you find on www.nhs.uk/covidvaccine or call them on 119.

This invitation to sites like Sheffield Arena is to ensure as many people can get vaccinated as quickly as possible. However, we know travelling to one of these sites is not for everyone, so for those who would prefer to visit a Barnsley site, you can wait for your GP to invite you. Please be aware this may take a while as there are a lot of people in this next group for vaccinations.

Even though we’ve seen an overwhelming response to the vaccine so far, I understand that some people may be worried about having a vaccine. I’ve been at the vaccination sites myself and I want to reassure you that everyone gets looked after really well. If you’re feeling nervous or anxious the team understand and will make you feel as comfortable as possible.  

If you are hesitant about getting the vaccine, I’d encourage you to have a chat when you get called and offered the vaccine. They will be able to answer any questions you may have. I’d also like to thank and encourage any employers who have staff who are eligible for the vaccine for allowing them time to get vaccinated when they are offered it. Every little helps as they say.

We are delighted that so many Barnsley people coming forward for their vaccine. We always said this would take many weeks and months to get through everyone, so thank you for your patience. I do want to stress that it is still incredibly important, whether you are vaccinated or not, that you should still follow the latest advice and guidance of hands, face, space in order to reduce the spread of the virus and continue to bring Barnsley infection rates down.

Finally, I would like to thank our vaccinators, coordinators, volunteers, and most importantly all those who have opted to get the vaccine so far. We still have an enormous task ahead of us, but alongside our partners locally, regionally and nationally, we have made a great start. Let’s keep it up and let’s do it for Barnsley