Rochdale Infirmary patients first in Greater Manchester to receive Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

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 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 has felt the full force of Storm Christoph with more severe flood warnings in place.Thousands of homes were evacuated on Wednesday night because of rising water levels following a day of heavy, torrential rain.Snow the proceeded to fall across the region and across England and Wales, with many rivers at "dangerously high levels", the Environment Agency said.The Met Office's most serious weather warning – amber for rain - has been removed and is now a yellow

direct to your inboxStorm Christoph is set to continue to bring heavy rain across the region.The Met Office has issued a number of weather warnings across the UK, with an amber warning in place for rain in Greater Manchester.The warning remains in place until midday tomorrow (Thursday) and the forecast is said to likely lead to flooding.Flood warnings are in place for the River Mersey at Cheadle Wood and Ford lane, River Roch in Rochdale and at Littleborough.

direct to your inboxTorrential rain across Greater Manchester is set to continue into the night as Storm Christoph hits the region.The Met Office has issued a number of weather warnings across the UK, with an amber warning in place for rain.It's in force until Thursday lunchtime, with forecasters warning of potential flooding.Flood alerts are already in place for some areas surrounding the River Mersey, River Irwell and River Bollin in Greater Manchester for the next 48 hours.Chief Meteorologist

direct to your inbox“I’m a stallion, baby,” drag queen Veronica Green declares as she graciously sits on a white horse in the trailer for the second series of BBC Three’s RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.The latest series of the hit show finally reached our screens on Thursday evening (January 14) following a number of production halts due to the coronavirus pandemic.

direct to your inboxA yellow weather warning for snow and ice has been issued for Greater Manchester on Saturday as the cold snap looks set to continue into the early part of the weekend.Met Office forecasters say a band of heavy snow could lead to travel disruption tomorrow.The warning runs from midnight to 6pm on Saturday.It comes after the M61 and the M66 were both closed on Friday morning after crashes in icy conditions as Greater Manchester woke up to a blanket of freezing fog.Temperatures

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 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 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 inboxA yellow weather warning for snow and ice has been forecast for Greater Manchester this weekend following days of freezing temperatures. Mercury levels could plunge to as low as -9C in the north west this evening, according to the Met Office.A warning for snow and ice is in place until midnight tonight.Then a weather warning for ice is in place tomorrow (Saturday).It should feel a bit warmer by Sunday, with temperatures around 5C.  Here is a borough-by-borough forecast for

direct to your inboxThe temperature has certainly dropped and the thought of going outside is filling most of us with dread.And the snow has been falling across Greater Manchester after a brief glimpse of a white Christmas a couple of weeks ago.The Met Office forecast has issued a yellow weather warning for snow and ice beginning at 5pm tonight (Thursday) right up until late Friday evening.The weather warning means that icy stretches are likely to form, perhaps leading to some disruption to

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.

direct to your inboxThis is the moment a patient became the first in the world to receive the Covid-19 vaccine that was invented in the UK.Dialysis patient Brian Pinker received his jab at 7.30am on Monday from nurse Sam Foster at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s Churchill Hospital.Mr Pinker, 82, has been receiving dialysis for kidney disease for a number of years at the hospital.The retired maintenance manager said the jab will give him peace of mind as he continues to receive

direct to your inboxThe Army is being drafted into Greater Manchester from today to help carry out 'targeted' asymptomatic testing for coronavirus, the government has announced.The Ministry of Defence said 800 military personnel including soldiers would deploy to support community testing plans drawn up by Greater Manchester Combined Authority.The news comes as the latest Covid-19 vaccine - from Oxford AstraZeneca - was administered for the first time on Monday.The MOD said personnel from nine

Get breaking news first on the free Manchester Evening News app - download it here for your Apple or Android device. You can also get a round-up of the biggest stories sent direct to your inbox every day with the MEN email newsletter - subscribe here. And you can follow us on Facebook here.

direct to your inboxA further 13 people have died in Greater Manchester's hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus.It brings the total death toll in the region to 4,258.Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust recorded three further deaths.Both Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust recorded a further five deaths.The total number of coronavirus deaths at hospital trusts in Greater Manchester, as of January 3, are:Bolton NHS Foundation Trust -