Nearly 1,000 people have been given the new Covid-19 vaccination at a Harborough surgery

Almost 1,000 people have been given the new Covid-19 vaccination at a surgery in Market Harborough.

Some 975 patients from priority groups such as the over-80s were vaccinated at Market Harborough Medical Centre on Coventry Road on Friday and Saturday (December 18 and 19).

People from the town and surrounding villages queued up to follow David and Susan Sanderson, of Dingley, as the husband and wife became the first people in Harborough to receive the ground-breaking Pfizer injection.

Julie Simpson, one of the practice managers at the busy medical centre, told the Harborough Mail today: “We are pleased because the Covid vaccination programme on both Friday and Saturday went very well.

“Everyone attended and everyone was vaccinated.

“These people will be returning to receive their second vaccinations on January 8 and 9 to complete their set.”

She added: “I’d like to pay tribute to all of our staff who have worked ever so hard to ring round all our patients and set this all up – it’s been a fantastic effort all round.”

Julie said they have also already given over 7,000 flu vaccinations to patients aged from two to 96 this winter.

“We will still be vaccinating people into the New Year.

“People can email us via our website if they want to get their names on the list,” she said.

“And please remember to call us next August for next season’s flu jabs while we have already ordered our flu vaccines for next winter!”

Harborough MP Neil O’Brien, who popped in to the medical centre on Friday to watch the highly-professional operation unfold, said: “It was great to see coronavirus vaccinations rolling out in Market Harborough at last.

“It is going to be a monumental effort over the coming months to vaccinate millions of people but we’ll get there.

“I'd like to thank all the staff at our local medical centres who are working overtime and weekends to deliver these life-saving vaccinations."

He added: "It will be a tough winter and there is still a way to go to the spring.

“But I’m sure that the arrival of the vaccine marks the beginning of the end of this crisis pandemic.”

You can check out Market Harborough Medical Centre here: https://www.mh-bp.co.uk/And you can read our story on Friday about David and Susan Sanderson becoming the first people to be vaccinated in Harborough here: https://www.harboroughmail.co.uk/health/it-very-exciting-because-vaccine-genuine-life-saver-meet-couple-who-are-first-get-new-covid-vaccine-harborough-3072521