Vaccination Success

By Gareth Johnson, MP for Dartford

At the start of 2020, no one could have predicted the devastating impact Covid-19 would have on our community, our country and the world.

Everyone has been affected by the virus and more than 150,000 people with Covid-19 have tragically lost their lives. We have faced health scares in the past but nothing on this scale in a generation. This time, science has come up with the main solution in the form of the Covid-19 vaccination.

At the start of the pandemic, we always knew that producing a vaccine would be the best way to beat this disease and just months into the crisis, the Government set up a taskforce to ensure we were at the forefront of this development. Led by Kate Bingham, the Vaccine Taskforce’s main aim was to secure access to vaccines for the UK.

Within months, scientists and pharmaceutical companies produced the first vaccines and, after a series of clinical trials, the green light was given for the vaccines to be mass produced for everyone.

Last December, the NHS began its biggest vaccination programme ever, starting with vaccines by Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca. To date, around 40 million people have had one dose with most of these people having now had both vaccine doses. This is an achievement that virtually no other country has managed. Here in Dartford, teams throughout the area have been working tirelessly to get ‘jabs in arms’ as soon as they are available. As we went to print, nearly 60,000 people in Dartford had received at least one dose of the vaccine.

At the end of May, I met Dr Pandya, a GP who has been leading the team at Swanscombe Health Centre, which is currently holding two vaccination clinics a week.

Dr Pandya told me the vaccine uptake has been very good with patients really thankful to get the jab. He said this was some of the most satisfying work he had done during his time as a doctor. During my visit, I saw first-hand the dedication of everyone involved, from the reception staff who organise the appointments and the medical staff who administer the jabs, to the volunteers who are giving up their time to ensure the whole operation runs smoothly. Throughout Dartford we have seen the positive impact volunteers have had during the pandemic. Vijay, who is the editor of this magazine, is just one of the many volunteers giving up his time to help at a vaccination clinic!

This vaccine programme is a real testament to everyone involved and I would urge everyone who is invited for a jab to get one as soon as possible.

I would encourage people to ensure their contact details are up-to-date with their registered GP so they can be contacted quickly when they are eligible. It is fantastic to see the high uptake of the vaccine here in Dartford and I hope everyone continues to respond quickly when they get the call as the vaccine is truly our way out of what has been a miserable time for everyone.