Cricket club to be turned into one of the first pharmacy-led vaccination centres in Greater Manchester

direct to your inboxThe leader of Manchester Council has warned vaccination queue jumpers will face action - as it's revealed more than 440,000 people in the region have received the jab so far.Among those to have received their first round of vaccinations, 50,631 are care home residents and staff.People aged over 80 account for 115,555 doses, while 102,686 healthcare workers have been inoculated.Meanwhile, 54,481 social care workers, which includes domiciliary workers and special school staff,

direct to your inboxIdentity checks have been increased at Manchester's Etihad vaccination centre amid concerns that people have been queue-jumping by pretending to be social care staff.It is understood an internal booking link from the Northern Care Alliance hospital trust has been widely circulating beyond NHS and social care workers, leading council bosses to raise the issue with the top of the Greater Manchester health system.Some people are said to have successfully used the booking link to

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

direct to your inboxAfter the Storm Christoph floods which caused devastation to parts of South Manchester and Cheshire earlier this week, the weather is set to turn much colder and wintry today.Thousands of homes had to be evacuated due to 'dangerously high' water levels as the River Mersey came very close to breaching its banks.Snow will return to Greater Manchester today.It prompted the Met Office to issue a yellow weather warning for snow and ice for Greater Manchester,This is your

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 Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital is to open emergency Covid beds for adults in a sign of the unprecedented pressure facing Greater Manchester’s hospitals.Sir Richard Leese, the region’s health chief, said the situation in the system was now ‘critical’ as NHS bosses have scrambled to discharge as many people as possible ahead of a sustained peak over the coming three weeks.Crisis meetings have been held to determine the ability to scale up beds, as Salford Royal and

direct to your inboxThe NHS has sadly confirmed the deaths of 29 more patients in hospitals in Greater Manchester who had tested positive for Covid-19.The region's hospital death toll now stands at 4,757.NHS bosses said on Friday a further 993 people who tested positive for the virus have died in hospitals across England.It brings the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 65,104.In the north west, a further 94 hospital deaths were reported, the NHS said on Friday.A

direct to your inboxGreater Manchester is being hit by yet more wild skies as heavy rain turns to snowfall across the region in what residents have called 'bonkers weather'. Many boroughs have been overwhelmed by the deluge that came with Storm Christoph, with some areas, including Didsbury, Northenden, Ramsbottom and Leigh, seeing waterways burst their banks and flood houses.

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 flood 'alert' has been put in force in Greater Manchester today after hours of heavy rainfall overnight.The alert warns of 'possible' flooding around the area of the middle River Mersey catchment area.It includes areas near Bramhall in Stockport, Sale, Altrincham and Urmston.The Environment Agency warned: "Flooding is possible - be prepared."And Transport for Greater Manchester said: "With heavy rain in Greater Manchester this morning, expect flooding in some areas.

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.

direct to your inboxThe mass vaccination of thousands of people in Greater Manchester is now underway.Indoor tennis courts built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester have been repurposed to help protect as many people as possible from coronavirus.The Tennis and Football Centre at the Etihad campus is now the region's mass vaccination centre and on Monday NHS vaccinators welcomed their first patients.Patricia Smethurst, 81, was among those queuing patiently for their Oxford-AstraZeneca

straight to your inboxManchester City have offered access to the Etihad Stadium for the NHS to train staff operating the new Covid-19 mass vaccine centre nextdoor.The site, at the Manchester Tennis and Football Centre at the Etihad Campus, has opened today to assist in the roll-out of coronavirus vaccines, and is initially open to people over 80 and healthcare staff by appointment only.

direct to your inboxThis is the first look inside Greater Manchester's mass coronavirus vaccination centre ahead of its opening on Monday.The site, at the Manchester Tennis and Football Centre at the Etihad Campus, has undergone a remarkable transformation as this exclusive footage provided by the NHS shows.It's one of seven vaccination centres being launched in England next week.Initially it will be open to people over 80 and healthcare staff by appointment only.Manchester's director of public

direct to your inboxRochdale Infirmary patients became the first in Greater Manchester to receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine this week.It was given to people aged over 80 attending scheduled outpatient appointments at the hospital, after its pharmacy team took delivery of the vaccine on Monday.The vaccine was approved for use in the UK by the medical regulator at the end of December.

direct to your inboxA weather warning has been issued with temperatures to plummet below freezing in Greater Manchester.Some areas, including parts of the city centre, saw a dusting of snow overnight.Pictures from city centre residents showed streets in Ancoats lined with snow and the water frozen at New Islington Marina early this morning.And forecasters say there is a possibility of more falling as they warn of the likelihood of freezing conditions for the next 48 hours.After a freezing start

direct to your inboxThe coronavirus vaccination programme is underway in Greater Manchester.A number of vaccine centres offering the Pfizer jab opened before Christmas.Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised that 1,000 vaccination sites will go 'live' across the country by Friday. Meanwhile, the Etihad Tennis and Football Centre has been confirmed by the Govenment as one of seven 'super-vaccination' centres due to open next week.

direct to your inboxA Greater Manchester Police officer who repeatedly sexually assaulted a young girl has been jailed.Farooq Ahmed, 37, walked into a police station with a confession note before Christmas.

Covid-19 variant is putting an extra strain on already stretched hospital resources.In London, one hospital declared they were unable to provide 'high standard critical care' because it is understaffed and swamped by Covid-19 patients. A campaigning doctor revealed on  Twitter  on New Year's Eve that the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel had sent an email to notify staff of the situation.