Vaccinations for swine flu have been rolled out across Surrey to those most at risk from the virus.
GP practices have written to four priority groups across the borough, offering them immunisation, including those suffering from asthma, diabetes, heart failure, high blood pressure, stroke victims and pregnant women.
Susan Barnes, a practice nurse in Weybridge, said: “We started vaccinating our patients last week. Our first clinic went very smoothly and was really well attended - in fact we saw more than 300 patients in just one day.
“I think one of the reasons it was so successful was the organisation behind it. We knew when to expect our first delivery of the vaccine, so as soon as it arrived we immediately contacted patients in the priority one group in for their vaccine.
“We used a text service to contact patients where possible, and this worked really well. We also called patients we couldn’t contact by text.”
Every UK surgery had been sent an initial batch of 500 vaccines to offer to the highest risk group, enabling more than 70,000 people in Surrey to be among the first to benefit.
Contact the National Pandemic Flu Service at direct.gov.uk/pandemicflu or call 0800 1513513 if you think you have contracted the virus.
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