PICKERING Medical Practice has said it is well on its way to a full completion of vaccinating the 1 to 6 cohorts.

Last Friday and Saturday, another 1,031 vaccines were delivered to patients at the surgery all whilst maintaining routine services.

618 of these vaccines went to Pickering patients, 209 to Helmsley and Terrington patients and 204 to Kirkbymoorside patients.

A spokesperson said: "We have been careful to split our deliveries proportionately across the practices within our region so that no areas are left behind as we work through the cohorts. We are now well on our way to full completion of cohorts 1-6. We have a further clinic this Friday . More texts and letters will be going out this week.

"The support from local businesses and individuals has been humbling. We are truly grateful for all your continued donations of refreshments - from home baked cakes to regular soup, your generosity, thoughtfulness and commitment to your local community really lifts our spirits and keeps us going .

"The unfailing support of Pickering Volunteers Network means we can continue to make this programme the success it is, and our growing numbers of volunteer vaccinators and admin staff (many who give their time willingly for free) mean we are able to keep the delivery sustainable and therefore continue to keep the service closer to the community we serve.

"Mid March sees the start of second doses as well as starting cohort 7 - we will be in touch with patients as they become eligible. Please keep an eye on our social media pages and ensure we have your correct contact details. Text messaging is by far the easiest way for us to contact you quickly. Thank you for your continued support and understanding."

Here's a selection of donations the practice has had this week ....

We've had, amongst others,

- donations from grateful patients in response to our teams gentle and caring response in calming anxieties

- donations of biscuits and drinks from someone who waited especially for Lidl to open after her night shift

- home baked cakes and sausage rolls.

- continued weekly support from the White Swan for lunchtime soup.

The coherts 1 to 6 are as follows:

Residents in care homes for older adults and their carers

80-year-olds and over and frontline health and social care workers

75-year-olds and over

70-year-olds and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals

65-year-olds and over

16- to 64-year-olds with serious underlying health conditions