‘A mammoth undertaking’: Bolton steps up Covid jabs to tackle outbreak

More than 6,200 people get vaccine dose as doctors take pragmatic approach on eligibility

The race to tackle an outbreak in Bolton of the virulent new strain of Covid-19 first identified in India began with a flurry of phone calls on Thursday afternoon. The urgency at senior levels was clear to those on the ground, who were told: If we throw every bit of Pfizer at you that we can find, how many [people] can you jab this weekend?"

In one meeting, Michael Smith, the chief officer of Bolton's GP federation, told NHS England they could jab 5,000 people in one weekend - eight times the average rate. Everybody's faces were a bit like: what? Really?"