Epping Forest residents may have to travel tens of miles to get a coronavirus vaccine.

England’s 53 vaccine hubs have been announced by Emily Lawson, NHS England’s chief commercial officer, and Sue Harriman, chief operating officer of the Covid-19 vaccination deployment programme.

Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, has said that rollout of the vaccine will start next week.

The bulk of vaccinations will take place in “January through to March or April for the at-risk population”, he added.

Unfortunately for residents of Epping Forest, the Princess Alexandra NHS Trust which runs the district’s hospitals, did not make the list.

The three trusts with the closest hospitals are Mid and South Essex Hospitals Trust, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, and East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust.

The closest hospital, Hertfordshire County Hospital, is approximately 20 miles from Epping town.

The nearest other hospitals offering vaccine services are Basildon and Darent Valley, approximately 30 miles from Epping town.

Vaccination against Covid-19 will begin after the UK became the first country in the world to approve a jab from Pfizer and BioNTech.

Mr Stevens said the first people to receive the jab would be the over-80s, care home staff and others identified by the JCVI who may already have a hospital appointment.

The UK has ordered 40 million doses of the the Pfizer/BioNTech jab, enough to vaccinate 20 million people with the required two doses, given 21 days apart.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said 800,000 doses of the jab will arrive next week, with millions more arriving in the coming weeks.

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