Leaders of West Yorkshire Councils respond to COVID-19 vaccine allocation decision
The Leaders of West Yorkshire Councils have issued a statement on the allocation of COVID-19 vaccine
22 January 2021
Responding to the reduction in the allocation of COVID-19 vaccine to West Yorkshire, the Leaders of West Yorkshire Councils issued the following joint statement:
“The decision to halve the allocation of vaccine to West Yorkshire and divert some of it to other areas will cause anxiety for all those waiting to receive their jab and already stretched NHS staff. It also risks widening the health inequalities that this pandemic has exposed and which have not been properly addressed in the vaccine rollout programme.
“The Prime Minister has described the vaccination programme as a ‘race against time’ but our region will struggle to win that race if we cannot have certainty that vaccine deliveries will happen on the promised schedule and in the expected quantities. If some parts of the country are progressing at a slower rate, the answer should be to support those areas, not to penalise those that are delivering faster.
“We strongly urge the Government to reverse this decision and to focus on working with the vaccine manufacturers to address the supply issue that is at the core of this problem.”