The National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom has turned down request to supply extra COVID-19 vaccine doses to Blackburn, despite the town having the highest infection rate in the UK and a death rate nearly a third higher than the national average, the Guardian reported on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th June, 2021) The National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom has turned down request to supply extra COVID-19 vaccine doses to Blackburn, despite the town having the highest infection rate in the UK and a death rate nearly a third higher than the national average, the Guardian reported on Friday.
A local lawmaker cited by the UK media said it is unbelievable that Blackburn's repeated pleas to continue surge vaccination have been refused, stressing that the action will place the NHS under unnecessary pressure.
Blackburn and its surrounding areas received 19,500 extra doses in mid-May to distribute by 30 May following the outbreak of the Delta variant of COVID, which originated in India.
However, Blackburn's rolling seven-day infection rate subsequently surged to 436.2 per 100,000 people, nearly 14 times higher than the national average of 32.1 cases per 100,000.
Disturbed about the rise, Blackburn's director of public health, Dominic Harrison, requested from NHS permission to prolong surge vaccination for another two weeks, with at least 1,000 extra doses offered to vaccinate everyone over 18 who was eligible every day.
However, the request was rejected by Jane Scattergood, the NHS officer leading the COVID inoculation program roll-out in Lancashire and South Cumbria.
"I don't believe that we are able to secure further additional supplies in the same volume as the surge weeks in Blackburn as this is inbound supply dependent," Scattergood was quoted by The Guardian as saying.
According to Scattergood, over 60% of Blackburn's adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Take-up has been significantly under the national average: across the UK, almost 40 million people have had a first vaccine dose - 75% of the adult population - and more than 26 million have had a second. But Blackburn has a significantly younger population than much of the UK, meaning it has a disproportionate number of under-30s who are not yet eligible for an injection.
