ALL willing members of staff at Colchester Hospital are set to receive the coronavirus vaccine by the end of the month, it has been revealed.

The East Suffolk and North Essex Trust says it hopes to give the jab to all of its employees, of which there are about 10,000, by the end of January.

So far, more than a third of employees of the trust have already received the vaccine at Colchester Hospital.

Out of a total of 6,599 vaccines which have already been distributed by the trust at both Colchester and Ipswich hospitals, 3,418 have been given to members of staff.

The remaining 3,181 have gone to vulnerable members of the community and care home workers.

Vulnerable staff at the trust and those working in high risk areas have been prioritised, but the vaccine programme is set to be opened up to all employees soon.

There are no plans to make the jab compulsory for staff but the overwhelming majority have said they will have it as soon as it is available to them.

Nick Hulme, chief executive of the East Suffolk and North Essex Trust, said: “About 95 per cent of staff have said they want the vaccine.

“I do not think it is necessarily helpful to make it mandatory but most people want it.

“We are prioritising in terms of people working in high risk areas such as ICU and red wards.

“Shortly we will be opening it up to all staff.

“We want to vaccinate all staff by the end of January.”

The trust will not be responsible for mass community vaccinations, which will be run by primary care providers in conjunction with Government health bodies.