All care home residents should have had the Covid vaccination by the end of this month.

Health Minister David Ashford said the roll-out to residential homes would begin this week.

’The operational processing for vaccinating care homes is now complete and the final clinical protocols are being finalised,’ Mr Ashford told a Covid briefing this week.

’We currently intend to begin the roll-out to residential homes later this week.’

’The current plan is we will have completed the vaccination of those in care and residential settings by the end of this month.’

Mr Ashford said the first over 80s vaccination was carried out on Monday at Newlands.

Those in this category who are housebound will be contacted separately to make arrangements via 111 for them to have their jab.

The Health Minister said it was important to wait to receive your letter before contacting 111.

Meanwhile, a third vaccine, Moderna, has been approved for use by the UK.

We will be entitled to a 0.13% share of the UK’s supply and so will get 13,000 doses, enough to vaccinate 6,500 people.

Spring will be the earliest this vaccine will become available

Mr Ashford said there were logistical challenges with Moderna in that it has to be transported at minus 20 Celsius although it can stored as fridge temperature for up to 30 days and is stable at room temperature for up to 30 hours.

More than 1,800 healthcare workers have so far been given the Pfizer vaccine.

Roll-out of the vaccination programme has ben described by Ministers as their ’national priority’.

Mr Ashford says the programme is on schedule and he expects everyone over the age of 50 would get the jab by the end of May and everyone else by the end of September.

The island has also received the first tray of the Oxford vaccine.

Mr Ashford said he was ’completely confident’ that his department has the staffing capacity to roll-out both the Pfizer and Oxford vaccines.

He said the staff plans were already in place to run the programme through to September on a hub system.

’In terms of staffing we are very confident we have robust staffing plans to be able to manage both vaccines and be able to ramp up as the deliveries come in to the island,’ he said.