Stephen Timms calls for Covid-19 vaccine centre in East Ham
MP Stephen Timms says the support from groups during the pandemic has been crucial. - Credit: Archant
Stephen Timms MP has urged the NHS to open a vaccine centre in his constituency after it was revealed to be a Covid-19 hotspot.
Mr Timms called for a centre to open "very soon" in East Ham following an LBC analysis which revealed 29 per cent of the 100 worst-hit constituencies in England have no vaccine centre.
He said: “I’m very keen my constituents should get fast and efficient access to the vaccines. Neither of Newham’s vaccination centres are in East Ham.
"That means they’re not easy for my constituents to get to. But I’m assured the NHS is paying taxi fares to make sure people can reach them.
"I know NHS staff are also visiting care homes in East Ham to carry out vaccinations on the spot. I definitely want to see vaccination centres in East Ham very soon.”
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The call follows a Sunday Times story which identified the relative levels of vaccine provision across constituencies in England.
LBC used a method developed by statistician Dan Cookson to map local infection rates onto Parliamentary constituencies.
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By combining the two sets of data, they were able to pinpoint areas with high infection rates that are currently left out of the vaccine rollout.
The constituency of East Ham is one of England's worst affected by Covid-19, but it does not have a vaccine centre. - Credit: Ken Mears
The study found East Ham was the second worst area of England with no vaccine centre.
However, it acknowledged there are two nearby at the Sir Ludwig Guttmann Health Centre in Stratford and the Greengate Medical Centre in Plaistow.
The NHS also opened a vaccination centre - to jab people over 80 as well as health and care staff - at the Nightingale Hospital which is housed at the ExCeL London exhibition centre in Royal Docks on Monday, January 11.
The Department for Health says hundreds more vaccine sites are due to come online over the next few weeks and that where possible, roving vaccine teams will aim to visit people deemed to be vulnerable at home.
The NHS was contacted but has not commented.