Praise given to the inspiring NHS staff behind the Harborough district's Covid vaccination programme

Harborough MP Neil O’Brien has said a huge thank-you to inspiring NHS staff powering the brilliant Covid vaccination programme across the district.

The Conservative MP said hundreds of nurses, doctors and administration staff all deserve a massive pat on the back as the pace-setting UK leads the whole of Europe in vaccinating people against the coronavirus.

Neil told the Harborough Mail: “Britain has now vaccinated 25 million people – far more than anywhere else in Europe.

“And I pay tribute to all of those locally who have been involved in this success story.

“It has been heartening to see people queueing up across the district to get their jabs.

“And I know many people in local GPs and hospitals have been working seven-day weeks to make this happen.”

He added: “Our area now has a particularly high vaccination rate, which is great.

“In recent days we have seen Italy announce a new national lockdown and France lock down Paris and the surrounding area.

“The good news is that thanks to mass vaccination, infection rates in Britain seem to be staying down even as we reopen.”

Neil said we have seen “great cities and landmarks all over the globe spookily deserted” over the last year as the virulent virus has hit almost every country.

“We’ve been on a rollercoaster of restrictions easing and tightening.

“It’s been an extraordinary and difficult year for everyone.

“But at last we are finally coming to the end of this ordeal,” said the dad-of-two.

“In a week or so we will see families able to meet up again outside - and then in a couple of weeks our shops will start to reopen.

“By this summer life should be getting back to normal at last.

“One of the few bright spots over the last year has been the surge in people caring for people in their community.

“Huge numbers of people have fetched groceries and medicine for neighbours, looked out for older and vulnerable people and formed neighbourhood groups to help each other out,” stressed Neil.

“The challenge will be to keep this voluntary effort going – as sadly there are many people who are lonely even when life is ‘normal’.

“Harborough is a very community-minded place – and people here have made really gone out of their way locally to help one another.

“People should be proud of the way the community here across our district has responded to the crisis,” added Neil.

“And if we can keep that extra level of care for neighbours going then that will be one very positive legacy from the crisis.”