Frome Medical Practice says it is very proud to be part of the overall Somerset Covid-19 vaccination programme, which earlier this week announced it had offered a first dose of the vaccine to the most vulnerable residents across the county.

This success has been replicated at Frome Medical Practice and the vaccination has now been offered to patients in the following groups:

• All those aged 80 and over
• Those aged between 75 and 80
• Those aged between 70 and 74
• People who are clinically extremely vulnerable
• Eligible residents of care homes for older adults

The practice is now inviting anyone from these groups who hasn't yet been able to attend a vaccine clinic to get in touch to make their appointment.

Patients registered at the practice who are 65 to 69 are now being invited by the NHS for their vaccine, with the majority of these appointments taking place at a large vaccination centre or a pharmacy-led hub.

The practice is also in the process of contacting those aged 16 to 65 with specific underlying health conditions that increase their risk of serious illness from Covid-19 to offer them an appointment.

In Somerset, the latest published figures show that 146,379 vaccination doses were delivered up until February 7.

The team at Frome Medical Practice delivered its 10,000th vaccine dose yesterday (February 18), a milestone that the team is incredibly proud of.

Tonya Samsun leads the Clinician Support Services Team, and she said: "This is probably one of the proudest moments in my 21 years at Frome Medical Practice.

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"The enthusiasm and leadership to deliver the vaccine is second to none.

"It is great to be part of this positive move forward, which for many of our patients has been life changing after such a difficult and often lonely year. It's very uplifting to see so many happy faces on vaccine days."

Frome resident Philip Goodland, aged 69, was the 10,000th vaccine recipient at the practice.

He said: "Having the vaccine means everything to me.

"My wife suffers from bronchiectasis, which affects her lungs and she is very vulnerable. She had her vaccine last week.

"We have both been indoors since March last year. We are looking forward to a time when we can see family in the future and return to work."

Karen Creffield, practice manager, said: "Without doubt, this has been the most amazing team effort.

"We want to pay tribute to everyone at Frome Medical Practice who has made this happen, while continuing to run our normal day-to-day services.

"We have seen everyone pulling together and going the extra mile and we are thrilled that today we mark the administration of our 10,000th vaccine dose.

"We know there is still a great deal of hard work ahead as we continue to invite patients for their appointments.

"However, the feeling in the team today is very positive and the response from our patients and local community makes us feel enormously valued.

"We know how anxious people still are to receive their vaccination, and ask that they continue to remain patient and wait for us to make contact. We will be in touch as soon as we can."

For further updates on the vaccination programme at Frome Medical Practice please visit the website at fromemedicalpractice.co.uk or follow their social media pages.

For more information on the NHS vaccination in Somerset click HERE.