Leading hospitals arel being designated as vaccine hubs to start immunising NHS frontline staff and patients. Hub hospitals will be responsible for vaccinating their own staff and making sure neighbouring hospitals can get the jab to their own staff.

Following the vaccination of NHS staff, efforts will be focused on patients at highest priority including those aged 80 and above, along with care home residents and carers. The rest of the population will follow in the coming weeks.
DORSET hospital has been selected as one of 53 'hubs' across the country to receive the coronavirus vaccine this week.

Dorset County Hospital was confirmed as one of the NHS sites chosen by the government to receive the vaccine as the rollout is set to begin.

The news comes following the approval of the Pfizer and BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine by the government, making the UK the first western country to approve a vaccine.

The move has paved the way for mass vaccination to start throughout the nation, including in Dorset.

The vaccine is given in two doses – three weeks apart. Data from clinical trials showed the vaccine is 94% effective in protecting people over the age of 65 from coronavirus, with trials suggesting it works equally well in people of all ages, races and ethnicities.

This was confirmed in a document released by the Covid-19 Vaccine Deployment NHS England and NHS Improvement team, and made the UK the first country in the world to pre-order supplies of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine.