PEOPLE over 80 will be able to get their Covid vaccinations this week in Oxford.

Barton Community Centre will be offering the Pfizer vaccine on Friday.

It comes after some uncertainty about whether it was still on the list of community hubs that would make the jabs available for Oxford residents.

Oxford GP Dr Joe McManners said: "It is great news for our over 80s that we are now able to do the vaccinations for this week for Manor Surgeries and Hedena in Barton.

"I think the uncertainty about all this shows the complexity of this process and how quickly things are changing and I feel sorry for colleagues who aren't able to start soon. GP Surgeries are keen to get going and help beat this virus and have a better 2021."

Around 1,000 over-80s - who have already been contacted - are expected to receive their injections at the centre, and the whole operation of administering the jabs has to be done in one day.

If not, vaccinations could also take place on Sunday at the centre.

Other sites in Oxford and across the county will also be offering the vaccine this week.

Dr McManners said: “It’s like a little challenge for us because we’ve only got one day to give out the vaccine to as many over-80s as we can. We have nurses, healthcare assistants, doctors and volunteers – it’s a huge logistical exercise to get people in quickly.

“They only have a certain amount of time to get it so it’ll be a bit of a race for us. If they miss out, they will have to wait until the next wave which will be some time in January, but the response has been pretty positive.”

The way NHS England is rolling out the jabs is through a small number of GP-led primary care networks.

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This means a group of GPs will work on behalf of all practices at a hub as the vaccine cannot get to each site because it needs to be stored at -70C before being thawed out, and can only be moved four times before being used.

NHS England has been struggling to work out the logistics of delivering the vaccine because of the low temperatures that it needs to be stored at.

A full list of all sites in Oxfordshire offering the vaccine will be released by NHS England later.

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