COVID: MP’s concern over Oundle residents travelling to Peterborough for vaccines

Corby MP Tom Pursglove has written to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group asking for a “local solution”.

The Conservative MP wrote: “I have heard from a number of residents in the Oundle area who have understandably raised concerns about the lack of vaccination facilities serving that part of the constituency and the need for residents to travel to Peterborough to be vaccinated presently.

“I share those concerns and am actively pressing NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group to identify a local solution so that vaccination is far more convenient for residents as the roll-out progress.

“These are still the very early stages and great efforts are being made to deploy the vaccines as quickly as possible, but I have a meeting arranged to discuss this and have relayed at least one local venue offer that I am aware of for their consideration and will be sure to share any updates as I have them.”

The CCG has been contacted for comment.

Meanwhile, a new vaccination hub is being created at Springfields in Spalding this week, the first one in the area.

And new figures from NHS England show that 186,291 people in the East of England had received their first jab by January 10.

Of those, 81,604 are aged under 80 and 104,687 aged 80 or above.

This is the second slowest rate of vaccinations per population out of the seven regions in England.

A further 49,732 have received their second jabs, the vast majority of whom are aged 80 or above.

This is the second fastest rate of vaccinations.