Every care home resident in England has now been offered a coronavirus vaccine 

The NHS has confirmed that all care home residents in England have now been offered the Covid-19 jab.

Older people living in England’s 10,000 care homes have now been either vaccinated or offered the Covid-19 vaccination. Those who have been forced to wait due to an outbreak will be treated as soon as possible, according to health professionals. 

It comes after a record-breaking 600,000 vaccines were administrated in just one day over the weekend, and a week after Manchester City Council announced all residents and staff in care homes in the region had been vaccinated. 

Saturday January 30th saw 598,389 people across the UK given their first dose of the jab with an additional 10,621 receiving their second dose. 

So far just under nine million people have had the first dose of the vaccine in the UK. 

Dr Nikki Kanani, NHS England’s primary care director, who has also been delivering vaccines to care home residents and staff, said: “I want to thank my colleagues, and everyone involved in the vaccine rollout, for their extraordinary work in recent weeks.”

She added: “It is because of their tireless efforts that millions of people have already been vaccinated, including hundreds of thousands of care home residents, and as a result we are a vital step further in our fight against COVID-19.

“It has been a privilege to vaccinate some of the most vulnerable people and the wonderful people who look after them.

“Many have had little contact with the outside world throughout the pandemic and so it has been truly humbling for all, giving them hope and importantly protection against the disease.

“I would urge anyone who is offered the vaccine to come forward.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Today marks a crucial milestone in our ongoing race to vaccinate the most vulnerable against this deadly disease.

“We said we would prioritise and protect care home residents, and that is exactly what we have done.

“There will be difficult moments to come, and the number of cases and people in hospital remains dangerously high.

“But vaccines are our route out of the pandemic, and having protected 8.9 million people with a first dose so far, our rollout programme will only accelerate from here on.”

An actual figure of how many people in care homes have had the jab is yet to be provided, and a ‘small number’ of care homes have not yet been visited to be offered the vaccine due to outbreaks, according to care minister Helen Whately. 

The executive chairman of the National Care Association, Nadra Ahmed described the milestone as a ‘great feat’, but added that the toll on care homes should not be underestimated. 

She said: “It’s hard to get across what an impact it has had on people’s mental health.”

Ms Ahmed added: “We have homes telling us they have two or three deaths in a year maybe, and they have had to face six or seven in months. Just the thought.. and for the residents in those homes to see empty chairs.

“You can’t put that into words really. It’s really hard.”