Great Yorkshire Showground Archives - Page 10 of 12

North Yorkshire health chief: Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is safe

A senior NHS official in North Yorkshire today insisted “safety is the number one priority” in the coronavirus vaccine rollout after some European countries paused the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab amid concerns over blood clots.

Amanda Bloor, accountable officer of NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said while some patients may be feeling uneasy about receiving the jab, regulators had been “absolutely clear” that it is safe as she urged everyone to take up the opportunity as soon as it arises.

Her bid to reassure the public comes after Germany, France, Italy and Spain joined the list of countries to suspend use of the vaccine while they seek further clarification on its safety.

Speaking at a meeting of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum today, Ms Bloor said:

“We understand that this action may be concerning for some people around the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine but I want to reassure you safety is the number one priority for the NHS.

“The phenomenon of blood clots can occur naturally – they are not an uncommon thing.

“Over 12 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have now been given across England and the number of blood clots that have been reported after having had the vaccine is not greater than the number that would have occurred naturally.”

The European Medicines Agency previously said there was “no indication” that the jab causes blood clots and is expected to release the final findings of an investigation on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the UK’s medicines watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, has also said that evidence “does not suggest” the jab causes clots.

Ms Bloor added:

“Given this, the NHS will continue to offer the AstraZeneca vaccine and we would urge people to come forward when invited.

“This will give us the greatest chance of keeping the cases of covid at bay within communities and hospitals, and also allowing us to progress along those timings that have been outlined in our roadmap.”

It was also announced today that more than 188,000 people in North Yorkshire have now received their first coronavirus jab and 13,000 their second.

More than 50,000 of those have been delivered at Harrogate’s mass vaccinations centre at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

Those who are currently being called up for their vaccine include over 50s and those with underlying health conditions between 16 and 60-years-old.

Ms Bloor said the “fantastic” progress in working through the age groups meant North Yorkshire remained on track to meet the government’s target of vaccinating all over 50s by 15 April and every other adult by 31 July.

It comes as the number of people with covid in North Yorkshire’s hospitals has continued to fall with a drop from 129 last week to 96 today. Twenty three of those patients are in intensive care.

In the county’s main hospitals there are currently 13 patients in Harrogate, 25 in York and three in Scarborough.

The weekly rate of coronavirus infections is also continuing on a downward trend with the figure for North Yorkshire standing at 46 cases per 100,000 people and Harrogate 38.

These are both below the national average of 58.

Great Yorkshire Show set to go ahead in July

The organisers of the Great Yorkshire Show announced today this year’s event will go ahead in Harrogate.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society said last week’s government roadmap out of lockdown paved the way for it to plan to stage the three-day show from July 13 to 15.

This will be the 162nd show, which showcases farming, food and the countryside at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

The 2019 event attracted over 135,000 visitors. Last year’s was cancelled due to covid.

If the roadmap stays on track large events should be able to go ahead by the end of June.

YAS said in a statement it was looking into ways to hold the show safely and that further updates, including ticket sales, would be out on its website and social media.

Charles Mills, honorary show director of the Great Yorkshire Show said:

“Following the publication of the government’s roadmap we are pleased to confirm that we are planning to hold the Great Yorkshire Show on 13-15 July 2021.

“This will, of course, have to be reviewed regularly and is based on the assumption that the whole country successfully moves from the current lockdown to step 4 in the government’s roadmap on June 21.

“We will only go ahead with the show if we can do so safely for all concerned.”

The 2020 Great Yorkshire Show was held virtually.

It was the first time the entire show had been cancelled since the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001.

The last two days in 2012 were cancelled due to flooding.

The Yorkshire Event Centre at the showground is currently being used as a vaccination centre. It is not clear what impact, if any, today’s announcement will have on this.

Harrogate butchers named best in the north

A Harrogate butchers shop at the Great Yorkshire Showground has scooped an award for being the best in the north of England.

Fodder was named North of England Butcher’s Shop of the Year at the Butcher’s Shop of the Year Awards 2020 on Monday.

The shop, which opened in 2009 and is run by the Yorkshire Agriculture Society, was described by judges as “an excellent business, showing innovation and community as well as charitable support”.

Fodder opened in response to the foot and mouth crisis that devastated farming. The shop now works with 430 local farmers and producers.

Heather Parry, managing director of Fodder, said:

“We are thrilled that our butchery has been recognised as the North of England’s finest and one of the very best in the whole of the UK.

“This award is a great endorsement of the quality of our meat, which has been reared to perfection on the very best local farms, as well as the skills of our talented and knowledgeable butchery team who are able to advise customers on how best to cook our products when they get home.

“Our team works incredibly hard to create a beautiful counter every day and offer outstanding service too.”

The Butcher’s Shop of the Year Awards, which is organised by Meat Trades Journal, includes 12 categories and is judged by a panel of butchery experts, including a “mystery shopper” visit to the 35 finalists.

Among the other awards include Butcher’s Shop of the Year, Online Butchery Business of the Year and Farm Shop of the Year.

The awards ceremony was held online amid the coronavirus pandemic.

EXCLUSIVE: Great Yorkshire Showground can give 1,800 vaccines in a day

Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground vaccine site can carry out up to 1,800 vaccinations a day.

The site, which opened its doors on December 22, is among four centres which are currently offering vaccines to people in the district.

In an interview with the Stray Ferret, Dr Chris Preece, a GP partner in Boroughbridge and Knaresborough and clinical director of the Knaresborough and Rural District Primary Care Network, said he spent the weeks leading up to Christmas working on the blueprints for the centre.

He said the site had slowly cranked up its numbers, but added there was “a lot more work to do” to vaccinate everyone.

Dr Chris Preece, a GP partner in Boroughbridge and Knaresborough, who helped to draw up the site plans.

Christmas planning

Discussions about the site started in late November after GPs were told they would need to set up vaccination centres.

Seventeen GP practices in the district and the Yorkshire Health Network, the federation of GPs, came together to look for a suitable venue to carry out vaccinations.

Officials scouted sites in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough including halls, swimming pools and supermarkets.

They settled on the showground because of its size and the need to keep batches of the Pfizer vaccine refrigerated on site.

Dr Preece and his colleagues spent weeks drawing up protocols, job descriptions and plans for how the site would look.

While others were out Christmas shopping, the team were mapping out and drawing chalk lines on the floor of the hall to mark where dividers would be placed.

Dr Preece said:

“I slept like I’ve never slept before on Christmas Day, because it was my first day off for a month.

“It was a lot of work building it up to that. We were in here [the hall] in whatever the weather getting it all ready and sorted out.”

‘A small army of volunteers’

The site runs on hundreds of staff and volunteers who have given up their time to help with what has been described as the biggest vaccination programme in British history.

GP surgeries from all over the district send staff to the site every day on a rota system.

Some clinical staff have come out of retirement to help with the vaccine effort.

Staff at the Great Yorkshire Showground site helping with the vaccination effort.

Alongside the doctors and nurses is a “small army of marshals” who help to signpost people into the car park and into the centre.

Dr Preece said the vaccination centre would not have been able to operate well without them.

He said:

“All the voluntary organisations have all come together to help marshal this which has been incredibly useful, I don’t quite know how we would done it without them.

“We are very grateful to them.”

Ramping up vaccinations

While the centre runs on the availability of vaccines, it can give up to 1,800 vaccinations a day at maximum capacity.

It’s taken time for the numbers to reach those levels, Dr Preece said, and is dependent on the supply they have.

He said:

“The maximum is about 1,800 now, so we’ve got really big numbers coming through when it’s going at full capacity.

“We are driven by how many vaccines we have got available to us at any one time.

“So, we can have 1,800 in here and 600 in a day at Ripon. We’ve got a good number coming through.”

Alongside the centre, clinical staff started to vaccinate care homes in January after batches of the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine arrived. In one weekend, 50 homes were vaccinated.

A total of 175,000 first doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been given in North Yorkshire and York so far.

Last week, surgeries also paid visits to those that are housebound.

As the site presses ahead with first doses, those requiring their second vaccine will begin to filter through gradually.

Dr Preece said he expects it will offer “more work in the short term” as they overlap with first doses.

“Again, it depends on vaccine supply how quickly we can do it.”

Meanwhile, Amanda Bloor, accountable officer at North Yorkshire CCG, told journalists at a press briefing earlier this week that 175,000 first doses have been carried out in North Yorkshire and York so far.

While the numbers continue to increase, health bosses are still urging those over-70 who have not had the vaccine to come forward.

More work to do, but a sense of optimism

As the year goes on, the centre will continue to make its way down the age cohorts until everyone is offered the vaccine.

Dr Preece said the operation is the biggest undertaking of his 18-year career and joked that it was like “putting on the Olympics after a village fete”.

However, he said he was still optimistic about the future but added there was still more work to be done.

He said:

“We have done those first four cohorts of people and we’ve managed to do that on time and on target, which is incredibly pleasing.

“It does give me some optimism and some hope for where we go next with this.

“There is still a lot of work to go, we’ve got all of those to do twice and all the other groups yet to come.

“So, we can’t sit back and relax yet unfortunately. But it is still looking optimistic at the moment.”

Tears of relief at Harrogate vaccination site

People have been left relieved, in tears and very emotional after receiving their first vaccinations at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

Dr Chris Preece, one of the GPs that helped to set up the site, told the Stray Ferret that some were left “very emotional” in the early days of the site.

It comes after health bosses confirmed this week that 175,000 first doses of the vaccine have been carried out across North Yorkshire and York so far.

Vaccinations are expected to move onto those over 65-years-old from next week.

For those groups who were among the first to get their vaccines, Dr Preece said it was an emotional experience.

He said that for some, the staff and the volunteers were the first people they had seen “in months”.

Dr Preece said:

“It’s been really positive and really nice, from our point of view.

“The first couple of weeks especially was very emotional for some people. We have had tears and things like that as people came into the site.

“For a lot of people who come here, particularly in the first couple of cohorts, it’s the first time they’ve left their house for months and months.

“It’s been really emotional for a lot of those people who are coming in.”

Dr Preece said that emotion has been reflected in those working and volunteering at the site too.

He added:

“There’s a tangible feeling that we’re doing something important here.”

Anne from Harrogate was among the first to be vaccinated at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

Among the first to get their vaccine at the showground was 83-year-old Anne, who thanked the health service and hoped it would make “her feel safe and will be the start of the end of isolation”.

Others marked their vaccines in line with special occasions.

Chris and Joan Jackson, aged 81 and 80, went to the showground a week after their 60th wedding anniversary.

At the time, Chris told the Stray Ferret:

“It was a very easy process and we were done in 45 minutes. It was managed quite well.

“It was no different to the flu jab.”

The showground is set to carry on offering first doses to the remaining cohorts, as well as the second doses to those that have had their first jab and completed the 12-week wait.

Health bosses have urged any of those over-70 who have not been offered the vaccine to contact the NHS to book an appointment.

Council chairman rolls up sleeve for covid vaccine

The chairman of North Yorkshire County Council has urged people to follow his example and get the covid vaccination when it is offered.

Cllr Jim Clark, who lives in Harrogate and represents Harrogate Harlow division, received his vaccination at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

He said:

“It is a very efficient operation, despite challenges posed by the weather, and everybody who attended for their jab at the same time as me was very pleased with the service from the NHS and the many volunteers on hand and ready to help.

“We have all come to value the work of the NHS more than ever during this pandemic and the staff working on the frontline in very challenging circumstances and the best way we can show our continuing support is by taking up the offer of the vaccination.

“This is the biggest contribution we can all make, along with following social distancing and hand hygiene rules, to reducing the pressure on our hospitals and to saving lives.”

Cllr Clark, who is 73, recalls being vaccinated for the first time when the NHS was formed after the Second World War. Since then, he has been inoculated for serious illnesses including mumps and diptheria, as well as taking up his flu vaccine each winter.

He was vaccinated by Dr Ian Dilley, a GP partner at East Parade Surgery in Harrogate and clinical director of the Mowbray Square Primary Care Network. Dr Dilley said:

“The vaccine rollout is going extremely well and it is great to see so many people enthusiastic to have their vaccination. All the staff have worked very hard to ensure our systems are smooth and well organised and we hope all our patients experience a process that is safe, reassuring and friendly.

“The combined effort across primary care, the incredible voluntary sector, NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and many other organisations has resulted in a service the whole county should be proud of.”

Snow fears close Harrogate and Ripon vaccination sites tomorrow

Tomorrow morning’s vaccinations at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate and Ripon racecourse have been postponed due to the snow forecast.

North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group said today people with appointments scheduled between 8am and 12.45pm will be contacted and booked in at the next available time.

However, appointments due for tomorrow afternoon are still due to go ahead as planned.

The Ripon site is due to open this week.

Health bosses said the decision was taken in the interests of patient safety.

A statement from the CCG said:

“GP practices in the Harrogate district are currently in the process of contacting all affected patients directly and will be booking those patients in to the next available clinics.”

A yellow weather warning for snow and ice is currently in place for the district between 10pm tonight and 11.59pm tomorrow, according to the Met Office.

WATCH: Harrogate vaccine team ‘deserve big round of applause’

Two Harrogate district residents who have recently been vaccinated have heaped praise on the team behind the local vaccination centre.

David Ridgway and David Hill got their coronavirus jabs at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate this month.

Both residents contacted the Stray Ferret with the hope that their experiences will encourage anyone who is apprehensive.

Mr Ridgway, who lives in Pateley Bridge with his wife, said over a video call (above):

“They deserve a big round of applause. For anybody who is maybe a little bit apprehensive about going, don’t worry at all.

“It’s a very easy and relaxed experience with plenty of happy, smiling faces.”

Mr Hill, who lives in Harrogate, also told the Stray Ferret:

“Other than a sore arm for a couple of days I had no side effects other than mentally feeling ‘over the moon’!

“The whole process was brilliantly organised so much so I told our MP Andrew Jones it had made me feel proud to be British.

“I also rang my GP surgery telling them the same story and they were pleased to receive the call.”

Harrogate Spring Flower Show delayed until May

The organisers of Harrogate Spring Flower Show have announced the event will be delayed by a month as the covid vaccine is rolled out.

The smaller Spring Essentials event was due to be held in April at the Great Yorkshire Showground but has been delayed to allow more time for the vaccine to take effect across the population.

Social distancing will be in place and ticket numbers have been limited for each day of the event, now set for May 20 to 23. Normally, 60,000 people would attend the four-day event, but this year only 5,000 can attend each day.

All tickets must be bought online prior to the event. People can expect to see their usual favourites at the outdoor event, including show gardens, plant nurseries and live theatres.

The event’s venue, the Great Yorkshire Showground, is currently being used as a covid vaccination centre, with many people from across the district visiting each day to receive the vaccine.

Harrogate Flower Shows director Nick Smith said:

“We have been planning a covid-safe event using the green open spaces at the showground for many months. Based on the information available and predictions made last autumn, we had hoped that measures to combat the virus would be in place in time for us to hold Spring Essentials on our usual weekend in April.

“The new variant has clearly changed the situation across the UK and so it seems sensible to take advantage of the extra time for the measures to take effect.”

The shows are run by the North of England Horticultural Society, which says it has worked closely with the showground team and local authorities to ensure visitors can have a safe and enjoyable day out.

The organisers have said anyone who purchased a ticket for the previous dates will be contacted and offered to transfer their tickets or get a refund.

Mr Smith added:

“The extra time afforded by this change of date will give us the best possible chance of delivering the show our visitors and exhibitors have told us they so badly want to see happen.”

Harrogate people don’t have to travel to York for vaccine, say health bosses

People in the Harrogate district waiting for a covid vaccine have been told they can wait for an invite to the Great Yorkshire Showground instead of travelling to York.

The Stray Ferret has received numerous messages from readers asking why they had been invited to be inoculated in York when they lived much closer to the showground.

Health bosses in North Yorkshire confirmed yesterday some people had been offered jabs at the national vaccination hub at Askham Bar in York, which opened on Monday.

The hub is run by the NHS nationally and sends invites to people within a 45-minute drive.

People in priority groups for the first round of vaccinations may also be invited through the national booking system to receive the jab at a pharmacy.

However, Amanda Bloor, accountable officer at North Yorkshire CCG, told a North Yorkshire Resilience Forum yesterday that patients were not obliged to travel to York for the vaccine.

She said:

“The way that the site is operating is that anybody within a 45-minute drive of the site who has not yet received a vaccination through their local site may receive a letter from the national team to book an appointment.

“If you do get an invitation to that site, you can choose to wait and book an appointment at your local vaccination site.”

Currently, the Harrogate district is served by a local site at the Great Yorkshire Showground and a national hub at York.

Ms Bloor announced yesterday that a further site will be opened in Ripon. However, a location has yet to be confirmed.

The York hub was among 10 sites across the country to open on Monday in an effort to ramp up the vaccination programme.

It will operate seven days a week from 8am until 8pm, subject to the supply of vaccinations.

Professor Mike Holmes, a GP in York, told a City of York Council Executive meeting last week that the new centre will offer up to 8,000 extra appointments in the first phase of the expansion of the site.

The centre became the latest vaccine site to open near Harrogate, with another due to be set up at Elland Road stadium in Leeds.

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Christmas planning

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‘A small army of volunteers’

Ramping up vaccinations

More work to do, but a sense of optimism

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