WHILE more than four million have had the vaccination there are still those who are eligible for the jab yet to be contacted.

A 97-year-old from Headbourne Worthy, who is classed as extremely vulnerable to Covid because of his age, has still yet to be offered a jab by the NHS.

His son says that the pensioner, who does not want to be named, is concerned that he has not been given the first dose as he has live-in care and extra daily care from outside – this is despite him living close to the Dower House care home where residents have had their jab some two weeks ago.

The son says there is a wider problem as his father is housebound and has been told by his doctors that he is unlikely to have the jab “for a while”.

He continued: “This is a very bad scenario, as he (like others) has contact with people even though he is housebound and therefore has a risk of catching Covid and taking up a hospital bed.

“He has been a substantial taxpayer for all his life and is almost at his 98th birthday, but feels he has been brushed aside, I expect he is not alone by any means.

“It really is starting to look like he has been forgotten or is not seen as priority. He is feeling down and left out.”

The son added: “Daily, I hear of many friends’ parents who have been done and some twice- so I also believe he has been forgotten.

“We are all worried that a carer could give him Covid or hospital- should he need to go in for anything.

“We are all concerned!”

Concerns have also been raised that not all paramedics have been vaccinated against the virus – despite being on the frontline.

Rosemarie Hillman who needed the assistance of South Central Ambulance Service said she there is “no excuse” for paramedics not to be given the jab.

She said: “They did all the appropriate checks on me but decided they should take me to the RHCH for further tests. En route I was appalled to discover that the ambulance teams were still awaiting their Covid vaccinations. To date, they had no idea when they would get them.

“They are key workers at the very coal face. On a daily basis they are going into homes, aside from attending the outcome of RTAs etc, not knowing what they are going to have to deal with, protected by just a face mask and gloves. No social distancing for them.”

Dr Nigel Watson, GP and vaccination lead for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said: “Across the county our NHS teams – supported by a brilliant network of volunteers – are engaged in a huge effort to vaccinate the priority groups before the government’s target date of mid-February. This is the largest vaccination programme in history.

“We will continue to follow the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation (JCVI) advice and vaccinate those most at risk first, and those who work closest with them - care home residents and staff, followed by people over 80 and health and social care workers, then other people in order of age and risk.

“There is a high degree of confidence that we have the capacity and resources in place to reach this target across all parts of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and we are building up pace all the time. Clearly, getting our NHS colleagues protected is immensely important both to us within the health service, and the people who rely on them for care and treatment. We anticipate that all frontline colleagues will have been offered a first vaccine dose, in line with the government’s planned timing, and our colleagues in the ambulance service are able to receive a vaccine from our vaccination centres.”

The Clinical Commissioning Group added: “There is a high degree of confidence that we have the capacity and resources in place to reach this target across all parts of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and we are building up pace all the time. The NHS has a clear vaccine delivery plan and will contact you when it’s your turn to get the vaccine as quickly and easily as possible. We will make contact with everyone in the priority groups within the coming weeks.”