Mid Ulster Council ‘stands ready’ as vaccine approved

MID Ulster council has said it stands ready to help with vaccinations, after the approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine was announced on Wednesday morning.

The North’s Department of Health, said the planned roll-out of vaccinations will happen later this month, with the JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation) determining which population groups will receive it first.

Welcoming this major landmark in the battle against Covid 19, the Chair of Mid Ulster Council, Cllr Cathal Mallaghan said it was important that local people did not drop their guard against the virus.

“Christmas and the new year are traditionally times of hope, when our thoughts turn to new beginnings. With a vaccine now approved, we can begin to look forward to 2021 with some optimism,” he said.

“Let’s be happy about the good news and let’s keep on doing what’s necessary to stop the spread while a vaccination programme is rolled out in the months ahead.

“For its part, Mid Ulster District Council stands ready to assist with that programme in any way we can”.

The approval for the vaccine, came as the Mid Ulster region witnessed a small drop in the rate of infection over the last week. On Wednesday, the Department of Health’s latest statistics showed that the area had 199.3 cases per 100,000 of population, which is a small reduction from the previous week’s figure of 207 cases per 100,000.

Over the last week there were 2,585 tests carried out in the area. Sadly there have been a further nine deaths from coronavirus in the Mid Ulster area over the last week, with the overall death toll now standing at 78. Earlier this week, the North passed the grim milestone of 1,000 deaths from Covid 19.