Vaccine rollout is ‘remarkable achievement’ says Shropshire health chief

As Shropshire mark's one year on from the first life-changing lockdown, people have been urged to look forward with fresh hope.

After a year which has seen nearly 900 people in the county die with Covid, and 251 in Powys, infection rates are now dramatically falling as the end of the third national lockdown approaches.

The mass vaccination effort has seen some 250,000 people receiving their first jab, and the number of people being treated for Covid in the county's intensive care units was last week at zero for the first time in a year.

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David Evans, health boss at the organisation leading the county's vaccine drive, said the people of the county had come together to tackle unprecedented challenges over the past year.

Mr Evans, joint accountable officer for Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Telford and Wrekin CCG, said: "Today marks exactly one year since we went into lockdown, leading the local Covid response has been challenging but I’ve been touched by the tremendous effort, dedication and goodwill of our NHS staff, volunteers, local partners and communities.

"Thank you for coming together and looking out for one another, during a very difficult year which has been like no other.

"We entered this year with fresh hope as we introduced our vaccination programme, which over time, will play a vital part in ending the pandemic.

"Take-up of the vaccine has been strong in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin. Over a quarter of a million people have now received their first dose, this is 61 per cent of our adult population, which is a remarkable achievement from everyone involved."