Coronavirus vaccines in the North West to be cut by a third in February

straight to your inbox every day for freeManchester United slumped to a frustrating 1-1 draw against West Bromwich Albion on Sunday afternoon, falling seven points off Manchester City's Premier League title pace.City also have a game in hand against Everton in midweek, only adding further assurance that United's title hopes are hanging by a thread.United started the game on the wrong foot, Victor Lindelof failing to deal with Mbaye Diagne as the bustling West Brom forward nodded home the opening

straight to your inbox every day for freeOle Gunnar Solskjaer accused the Video Assistant Referee Jon Moss of 'sleeping' during the second-half of Manchester United's draw with West Brom.Match referee Craig Pawson awarded Harry Maguire a second-half penalty but replays showed Maguire was stood in an offside position.

straight to your inbox every day for freeManchester United's fans and players were left frustrated after referee Craig Pawson opted to halt a counter-attack by blowing for half-time against West Brom. After Mbaye Diagne had headed West Brom into an early lead, United equalised shortly before half-time when Bruno Fernandes produced a superb volley from Luke Shaw's cross.

direct to your inboxThe North West Ambulance Service has confirmed that 120 soldiers will be brought in to help manage patients amid a surge in demand and staff absence during the Covid crisis.The Trust has said the army will be assisting with 'non-emergency patients' in the region from this month.

direct to your inboxOn Friday morning, Director of Public Health David Regan and Dr Manish Kumar, Executive Medical Director and Manchester Health and Care Commissioning joined MEN Political Editor Jen Williams in a live Q&A session.Broadcast over Facebook, the pair fielded a host of questions from the people of Greater Manchester about Covid-19, the rollout of the vaccine across the region, and the efforts being taken by chiefs to keep the virus under control.The interview focused on questions

direct to your inboxThe North West Ambulance Service has applied to bring in the army to help deal with demand amid a surge in call-outs and soaring staff absence.If their request is approved, it would be the first time in the Trust's history it has enlisted military assistance in regions including Greater Manchester in this way, other than to cover strike action.Dependent on a nod from the Government, it's understood up to 120 soldiers could be deployed to aid the service, including supplying

direct to your inboxMore than 300,000 people have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine so far in Greater Manchester.As of Tuesday (January 26), 309,469 first doses of the vaccine had been administered and 96pc of care homes have now been offered the vaccine.Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has praised the progress of the rollout, saying the region is in a good position to reach the mid-February deadline.There are around 560,000 people in the four highest priority groups

Sign up to the MySalford newsletter and don't miss a thing happening in and around the citySupplies of vaccines have become steadier in parts of Greater Manchester after hospitals said the situation with stock last week was 'hand to mouth'.Hospital hubs in Salford, Rochdale, Oldham and Bury and the mass vaccination centre at the Etihad in Manchester now have a week's schedule of supplies.Salford's supplies of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is also said to be 'more readily available' within the

direct to your inboxEvery care home resident in Manchester has now been given the Covid-19 vaccine.Residents of the city's 56 care homes were among the first people to be prioritised for the vaccine rollout, with NHS teams aiming to have completed the vaccination programme by January 24.After a busy weekend, council bosses said every resident has now had the vaccine in the borough.The vaccines were administered by either local GPs or gtd healthcare with support from Manchester Health and Care

straight to your inbox every day for freeManchester United have opened their Old Trafford stadium to be used for vaccination training.St John Ambulance will be granted access to four hospitality suites across the stadium to utilise as a training centre for hundreds of volunteers as part of the NHS COVID-19 vaccination programme.The suites will be adapted and used as a large-scale training facility over the next five weekends.The adaptation of Old Trafford is part of a UK-wide programme which

direct to your inboxA glimmer of hope in these dark days.Photos of people grinning from ear to ear under their masks while getting their coronavirus vaccines have been shared across Greater Manchester.The cheerful images represent hope following a tough year.A reminder that better days will come and one day things will get back to normal.Here are just some of the wonderful images that have been popping up on social media during the mass vaccination roll-out.GP Bev Matta from Westhoughton Primary

direct to your inboxThe biggest vaccination rollout ever has started in earnest across Greater Manchester.Health teams have been working around the clock to make sure the Covid-19 jabs can be administered as quickly and smoothly as possible. Across the city-region 87,697 people have already received their first dose, as of January 12.

direct to your inboxA sports centre in south Manchester is being transformed into a coronavirus vaccine centre - one of the first in the region to be led by a local pharmacy.From Monday (January 18) jabs will be administered at Whalley Range Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club on Kingsbrook Road. The service is being provided by local pharmacy group Kapoor Pharmacy Services (KPS), which runs two chemists in Whalley Range and Chorlton as well as one in Rochdale.

direct to your inboxThe latest coronavirus infection rates have been revealed, as cases continue to rise across Greater Manchester.Rates are still rising in all ten boroughs, but week-on-week percentage rises do not appear to be increasing as rapidly as they have in previous days.The average infection rate for England was the same as it was the previous week.Get the latest updates from across Greater Manchester direct to your inbox with the free MEN newsletterYou can sign up very simply by

What do you think about the safety of schools? Do you think teachers and school staff should be prioritised for the vaccine? Let us know in the comments here, or on our Manchester Family Facebook page. Teacher unions have been calling for all those working in education and childcare settings to be vaccinated.

direct to your inboxThe ambulance service has moved to a higher alert level as it experiences 'extreme pressure'.The North West Ambulance Service has moved to the top level of a NHS alert framework, with bosses saying it is experiencing 'extremely high levels of activity'.NWAS was moved into level four of the Resource Escalation Action Plan (REAP) this afternoon, which means there is 'extreme pressure' on its services.Get the latest updates from across Greater Manchester direct to your inbox

direct to your inboxNerves are growing within the Greater Manchester system about whether the current stop-start rate of vaccine supply will be sufficient to hit government targets by mid-February.Some areas are understood to have received barely half as many doses this week as they have capacity to deliver, while across the board there is worry about the last-minute nature of their arrival from the national distribution system - meaning local health officials and GPs are struggling to plan and

direct to your inboxPensioners are being told to travel from Greater Manchester to sites as far away as Birmingham to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.Some of the most vulnerable people who are eligible to receive the jab have been referred to vaccination centres in Telford, Macclesfield, Halifax and Newcastle-on-Tyne.As the mass rollout begins in earnest, the NHS is working to immunise the highest priority groups by February half term.