People over 70 living in South Cumbria can contact the NHS to arrange a COVID-19 vaccination, while those in the north of the county are being asked to wait until February 15.
Those over 70 who are served by the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System can contact the NHS immediately.
Until now the NHS has asked people to wait until they are contacted to help ensure that those who are most vulnerable are protected first – and that remains the case for most people.
However, to ensure absolutely everyone is offered the vaccine, people aged 70 and over can now contact the NHS so they can be vaccinated by the middle of this month.
COVID-19 vaccination director for Lancashire and South Cumbria Jane Scattergood said: “The NHS vaccination programme, the biggest in health service history, is off to a strong start with every eligible care home receiving a visit and millions more people being vaccinated at one of over 1,500 centres across the country thanks to the tireless efforts of my colleagues.
“But if you are aged 70 and over, and haven’t yet received your vaccine, please come forward and make an appointment as soon as you can.
“The vaccine is safe, simple, and will offer you and those around you crucial protection against this virus.”
However, the North Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group released the following statement this morning.
It said: “Our primary care teams are working very hard to reach all of those in the eligible cohorts.
“It would help our GPs if people over the age of 70 who don’t yet have an appointment wait to call their practice until after February 15.
“This is the date our teams are working towards to offer the first vaccination to their patients.
“If you are over 70 and have had a letter from the national booking service and can travel to Kendal, Ulverston, Lancaster or the North East, you may want to follow the guidance to make a booking.
“We are asking our over-70s to support their GP practice by waiting until the 15th to be contacted before calling their practices.
“Patients calling for medical advice and treatment need to be able to get through and by waiting a few days you are helping them to get the help they need.”
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