Residents aged over 80 have been sent letters from the Isle of Man Government inviting them to register for the vaccination programme.

It’s believed over 4,300 island residents will be asked to take the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to protect themselves from the effects of Covid-19. Letters will be dispatched in batches to the over-80 age group over the course of seven to 10 days along with an information leaflet.

A separate process is in place to arrange vaccinations for those aged over 80 who live in a care or nursing home.

Residents are asked to respond as soon as possible. Only those who are able to make their own way to Noble’s Hospital are invited to register at this point, and further information will be sent to those who need support with travel or who are housebound.

Once registered, individuals are asked to await their appointment call, which may come several weeks later in line with the delivery of vaccines to the island and the roll-out programme. Appointments will be released and filled on a rolling basis, in order to avoid wastage of vaccine and to maximise the health benefits for older and vulnerable people.

Two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine given 21 days apart are needed for optimum protection, and both vaccinations will be booked for patients in their appointment call.

Vaccinations are currently given at Ward 20, the hub created on the Newlands site at in Noble’s, where PPE and social distancing protocols are in place. Parking is available nearby and patients are directed to the reception desk when they arrive.

Minister for Health and Social Care David Ashford said, ‘We have looked forward to a time when vaccines could protect the most vulnerable members of our community, and that stage has now been reached. I urge everyone invited to register for a vaccination to do so, as the more people we have vaccinated, the greater our ability to fight back against Covid. The emergence of a new, more transmissible coronavirus variant makes getting a vaccination all the more important.’

Raising a current concern, Mr Ashford concluded, ‘I urge people not to ask for a vaccination before they are invited. This is the biggest mass vaccination programme we have ever undertaken and we will manage it in an orderly way, taking each priority group in turn. Please don’t try to circumvent this process. Our teams are working flat out to deliver the programme and callers seeking to go up the priority list are hindering this urgent work.’

The over-80s are the second priority group to be offered the Covid vaccine, following the successful roll-out to health and care staff from across the island which began on January 4.

Government said the first three priority groups will have had both vaccinations by early March, subject to the delivery of vaccine to the island per the schedule from the UK Government, which includes vaccinating care home residents.

The Department of Health and Social Care stated: ‘Priority groups will be contacted as set out by the independent advisory body the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). As the risk of mortality increases with age, prioritisation is primarily based on age and the JCVI’s priority list identifies groups in descending age order.

‘The time frame for vaccination of these groups is dependent on vaccine being made available and delivered to the Island with the programme schedule from January to September 2021.’

More information is available on www.gov.im/covidvaccination.