A HEALTH chief says she is "confident" of meeting the government vaccination targets in Cheshire.

With vaccination figures due to be released, political leaders in the county, including Cheshire East leader Sam Corcoran, back up the view of Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group's (CCG) Clare Watson, that there is evidence that good progress is being made in working through the top four priority groups.

But at the same time hospital admissions remain a huge concern, particularly at the Countess of Chester Hospital, where the trust's Chief Executive Dr Susan Gilby has revealed those being treated for coronavirus number more than 60 per cent of patients.

While Cheshire East Director of Public Health Dr Matt Tyrer told the borough's health scrutiny board last Thursday that Covid occupancy at Trusts like Mid and East Cheshire was "rising towards 40 per cent".

Meanwhile, the vaccination programme will be given its own shot in the arm by a super hub aimed at supporting the work in Cheshire and Merseyside.

It is based at St Helens rugby club's Totally Wicked stadium and is being run by the St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to offer thousands of syringes of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine daily when fully operational.

As with every other Covid-19 vaccine site, the NHS will contact patients when it is their turn to have the jab — and residents are being reminded not to contact the health service asking for an appointment.

Ms Watson, the NHS Accountable Officer overseeing the vaccine roll-out in Cheshire, said: "We have got three targets nationally. Although they are ambitious, they are quite helpful to have.

"By the end of January all care home residents and frontline care workers have to have their first vaccine. We are on track with that - we will meet that target.

"The other target is February 14 which is the top four priority groups being offered their vaccination.

"We are going through all these lists and we are still confident that we can achieve our target."

Ms Watson added that the NHS did not have "accurate data" on the numbers of people taking up the vaccine in Cheshire, but it would be "coming soon".

In lieu of official figures, both leaders of Cheshire's councils have come out with their own "guesstimates" to how many residents in their boroughs had been seen.

Cllr Corcoran took to Twitter to announce: "The vaccination programme is going well. I estimate that about five per cent of the population of Cheshire East have already been vaccinated.

"That's the first dose of a vaccine, either Astra-Zeneca or Pfizer."

And Cheshire West and Chester leader Louise Gittins has estimated that by early next week those given the first dose could number near to 20,000.