SURGERY staff in Tavistock have voiced fears that they may have to ditch hundreds of Covid-19 vaccines because of the number of booster jab no shows.

Abbey Surgery in Plymouth Road, which has been coordinating an heroic vaccination programme for the past 12 months, says up to 2,000 people have declined to attend a booster jab session.

That means hundreds of vaccines which could be used elsewhere might be headed for the dustbin, according to Abbey Surgery practice manager Darren Newland. He urged patients who have not taken up the offer of a booster appointment to do so or run the risk of becoming ill enough to end up in hospital.

His plea came as a Devon health chief warned residents the Covid-19 pandemic is not over despite the Government relaxing restrictions.

Abbey Surgery has been coordinating a vaccination programme which involves their staff and those at Tavyside Surgery and Yelverton.

Mr Newland said there had been around 1,100 no shows at Abbey, with the rest declining to attend their appointments at the other two surgeries.

The surgery has downgraded their vaccination programme to Saturdays, with around 70-80 people attending per day.

Mr Newland said: ‘It’s difficult to say why people aren’t coming in - we have sent out three or four messages to them - but we believe at least some of them are people who have had their first two vaccinations and feel they don’t need a booster because they are protected.

‘Clearly, that is not the case, because they are more protected from the virus if they do have a booster than they are if they don’t, which I can’t understand.’

He said they were concerned that they would have to dump unused Pfizer vaccines if they were not used.

Mr Newland said: ‘They are not going to expire until February. We are talking several hundred vaccines with a limited shelf life, which means we can’t send them elsewhere to other countries if they are not used because they will have expired by the time they get there. That means we will have to throw them away.

‘I don’t know how much they cost, but the point is that we don’t like throwing vaccines away at the surgery.’

Prime minister Boris Johnson has indicated that self-isolation measures for people contracting Covid-19 could be removed completely by March 24.

Steve Brown, Devon’s Director of Public Health, said that Covid cases in Devon were still high. He said: ‘While we have seen a reduction in the overall number of people reporting a positive test in the past week, numbers are now stabilising, and we are seeing increased rates in younger children.

‘Devon’s uptake of the vaccination is good, with more than 85 per cent of eligible people overall now having had their booster. However, take-up of the booster is lower in some younger age groups, and it’s imperative that they and everyone who is eligible for their booster jab, comes forward as soon as they can.

‘Omicron is by no means a mild virus, and the symptoms to those who are unvaccinated or who have underlying health concerns can be extremely serious, if not life threatening. So while the Prime Minister is indicating light towards the end of the tunnel, my advice is that we are not yet out of the woods. We must stay vigilant and alert to risk that is still around us.

‘Being fully vaccinated, and boosted, gives us best protection from this virus. It’s not too late to start vaccinations, and there are now plenty of opportunities in Devon to get your booster jabs at walk-in and vaccination centres.

‘Wearing face coverings is still an effective and sensible precaution to continue in indoor and crowded spaces, especially with people you don’t know.

‘Regular lateral flow device testing for people with no symptoms is still the best way to identify those carrying the virus, as is taking a PCR test by people showing symptoms. Keeping indoor spaces ventilated is a sensible precaution to reduce risk.

Staying at home and avoiding others if you have symptoms of the virus or test positive for it, is still the most responsible way to avoid spreading it to others.’