RESIDENTS across Clacton, Frinton and Walton fear the towns are “being left behind” over the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Clacton MP Giles Watling raised residents’ concerns at a Zoom meeting with Nadhim Zahawi, the minister in charge of the vaccine rollout.

Mr Zahawi told Mr Watling that the Army would be used to distribute the vaccine in the district and it is understood a mass vaccination clinic could be opened at Clacton Hospital as early as next month.

Residents have also been left upset that Walton’s Columbine Centre, which had been earmarked as a vaccination centre, has not yet been opened.

Gazette: Clinic - Giles Watling with volunteer Andy at a vaccine clinic in Clacton

Giles Watling speaking to a volunteer at the vaccine clinic in Clacton

Mr Watling said: “I told the minister that local residents were angry that they seemed to be being left behind once again.

“The good news is that Clacton is to get military support to improve the delivery rate.

“I also asked why the Columbine Centre in Walton hadn’t been opened yet as a mass vaccination hub.

“He told me that he would look into it as a matter of urgency.

“Almost 70 per cent of the over 80s have been vaccinated and, as I understand it, all care homes in Clacton should now have been covered.”

“I speak regularly with Dr Ed Garrett, chief officer of the North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group, who is doing an excellent job.

“The local rate of delivery is picking up and we remain on track to meet the mid-February completion target.”

Elderly and deprived residents in Clacton were among the first people in the community to be given a Covid-19 vaccine in December.

Gazette:

Daphne Dye got her jab in Clacton last month

The North East Essex CCG worked with St Helena Hospice to turn its Tendring Centre, in Jackson Road, Clacton, into its first vaccination centre in just seven days.

Pam Green, chief operating officer for the CCG, previously said vaccinations were rolled out in Clacton first because of the vulnerable elderly population.

But Mr Watling added: “There have been a few delays, but what I was complaining about is that we don’t seem to be doing so well as other areas.

“But we are now getting some traction and Clacton Hospital will be coming online in February and hopefully shortly after that the Columbine Centre.

“I’ve had an enormous amount of letters on this - everybody wants their jab and I can understand the frustration at waiting.

“I’m very happy the Army will be involved here and have been calling for that for some time.

“They’re not just experts at logistics, but can also administer the vaccine.”

The NHS said people living in Clacton continue to have access to vaccination sites and that more large scale and community pharmacy sites will be rolled out over the coming weeks and will be announced by the NHS just before they go live.

Gazette:

Navy veteran Alan Jones, 89, from Clacton, got the vaccine at St Helena Hospice's Tendring Centre​

A spokesman for the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care System, said: “One of our very first vaccination sites was set up in Clacton and the staff and volunteers have been doing a fantastic job since day one, with further sites coming online since then for priority groups to access and even more to follow in the coming weeks.

“Please wait to be invited for your vaccine, and continue to follow all the guidance in place to control the virus and save lives, even if you have already had your first jab.”

The NHS added that more than six million people have now had their first dose of the vaccine in England, putting it way ahead of comparable countries.

“We are confident that we can fulfil our ambition to offer first doses to everyone in the top priority groups by the middle of February,” a spokesman added.

It added that because supplies have been increasing, it has been able to provide more places for people to get their vaccine.

The number of Covid-19 cases in Tendring has fallen by 37.5 per cent in the past week.

The infection rate in the district decreased to 668 cases per 100,000 people on Tuesday, down from a high of 1,269 cases per 100,000 people on January 8. There were 94 Covid-related deaths in Tendring in the seven days to January 26.