Health bosses apologise after Suffolk students miss Covid jabs
Covid vaccines were only completed for consenting year 10 and year 11 students at Farlingaye High School on October 21 - Credit: Archant
Health officials have apologised to students who had to miss out on their Covid-19 vaccinations because of a shortage of time and nurse practitioners.
Farlingaye High School in Woodbridge wrote to parents to inform them that coronavirus vaccinations were only completed for consenting year 10 and year 11 students.
Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust, which is carrying out the schools vaccinations, said due to high demand for the Covid-19 vaccination programme, its school age immunisation teams may not be able to vaccinate all pupils on their scheduled visit to schools.
An HCT spokesman said: "We apologise for this inconvenience and understand the frustration and disappointment this will cause pupils, teachers, parents and carers.
"As soon as we have a second date scheduled for Farlingaye High School we will share this with those families who were affected, via the headteacher.
"HCT has also created some dedicated booking slots at pop-up clinics across East Anglia for half term – these were shared with parents and carers before pupils finished for their break last Friday.
"The local CCG in Suffolk has also arranged for walk-in vaccination clinics where children, who have still waiting their COVID jab can receive their single dose of Pfizer, accompanied by their parent or carer."
The full list can be found at the CCG’s website and will operate throughout half term and beyond - click here to access.
Eligible 12-15 year olds can now go online and check the National Booking Service to see if their local site has appointments, to vaccinate children and young people. They can also call 119 to make a booking.
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Farlingaye High said while staffing levels within the nurse practitioners team last Thursday had been partly to blame, the time taken to vaccinate each child, consenting years 8 and 9s plus 12-year-old year 7s, had also been a factor.
Headteacher Dr Andy Sievewright said: “Unfortunately, due to staff shortages on the part of the immunisation service, they were only able to vaccinate a proportion of our willing students.
"We asked them to prioritise year 11 and 10 so that these students can miss as little school as possible in the run up to their GCSE exams.”
