GPs leading Britain’s major vaccination campaign have been forced to suspend vaccinations to allow other parts of the country to catch up, it was claimed today.

Practices that previously vaccinated all patients over 80 and are now looking to distribute the vaccines to over-70s have had their deliveries canceled by NHS leaders, according to The telegraph.

Government sources say ministers are deliberately trying to distribute limited supplies in case the vaccination program is accused of being a postcode lottery.

Dr John Bedson, a GP in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, today claimed his practice has yet to be able to vaccinate a single patient, despite surgeries in more affluent areas of North Staffordshire already administering “thousands” of doses.

Matt Hancock today hinted that a lack of supply was behind the decision to delay jabs although the vaccination program desperately needs to upgrade to meet its target of stinging 13 million Britons by mid-February.

Asked about reports that GPs are having to suspend vaccinations to let other practices catch up, the Health Secretary told BBC Radio’s 4 Today programme: ‘The stage limiting the roll-out is the supply of the vaccine to him -same.

“We are now managing to get this supply more than we have before and it will increase over the next few weeks. We have the capacity to distribute this vaccine. The challenge is that we have to get the vaccine in.

“What I do know is that the supply will increase over the next few weeks and that means the very rapid pace we are currently going at will continue to pick up over the next couple of weeks.”

Meanwhile, homeless people in Oldham, Greater Manchester, received doses of the vaccine today – despite the fact that 60 per cent of over-80s across the UK have still not been stung.

Dr John Bedson, a GP in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, today claimed his practice has yet to be able to vaccinate a single patient, despite surgeries in more affluent areas of North Staffordshire already administering “thousands” of doses

Britain’s vaccination campaign began to gather pace after the Oxford vaccine was approved, but has still seen only 2.43 million people vaccinated against the disease since its launch in early December.

An additional 20,000 second doses were also added to the cumulative total, with 2.8 million doses delivered in total.

But the daily vaccination figure must double if the Prime Minister has any chance of delivering on his promise to vaccinate all 13.9 million Britons in the four main priority groups by February 15.

With just 34 days left to deliver on its promise to end lockdown, around 11.5million over-70s, NHS workers, care home residents and workers and adults with illnesses under diseases still need to be vaccinated – the equivalent of around 340,000 a day.

It comes as a GP on the coronavirus frontline has accused the NHS of ‘discriminating’ against its patients – after failing to vaccinate anyone over 80.

Dr Bedson, from Mayfield Surgery in Longton, said his area had lost wealthier areas of North Staffordshire which have already given thousands of doses of the vaccine.

He claimed NHS staff in his area were also denied their second Covid-19 shot. The family doctor blamed the non-delivery of fridges and vaccines by the Stoke-on-Trent clinical commissioning group for the problem.

Dr Bedson said: “I think my patients within the South Stoke Primary Care Network (PCN) are being discriminated against. To date, we have not been able to vaccinate an 80-year-old person.

“It is obvious that Stoke-on-Trent North, Newcastle and the Staffordshire Moorlands have received a large number of vaccines which have been used.

“In areas like Alton and Cheadle, everyone over 80 has been vaccinated. Over the weekend in Stafford, more than 1,000 people over the age of 80 were vaccinated at the County Showground.

He added: “There are three vaccination centers in North Stoke and three in Newcastle – and, for now, only one in South Stoke.

“There have been ongoing delays created by Stoke CCG to allow for more vaccination centers for the Longton area.

“Initially, we were supposed to hold clinics on January 4, but the CCG did not provide the appropriate equipment, including refrigerators.

“It was then postponed to January 11 and now to January 15. Apparently we can expect something like 1,300 shots for the whole of South Stoke next week.

“In addition to this, clinical staff have rightly received a second vaccine in other primary care networks, but clinicians in the south of the city have only received one.

“The government has now made it clear that no additional second vaccinations should be given to clinical staff.”

Dr Bedson said: ‘I understand this is a national policy, but there is a level of discrimination here again and I think it leaves me and my colleagues in a more vulnerable position. to this terrible disease on a daily basis.

“I spoke with our own head of vaccination operations in Staffordshire who was unable to tell me why certain practices had been given the green light to vaccinate while others were put in place in waves. later like us.

“We have been ready for several weeks and have the capacity in our own practice to deliver 750 vaccines per week.

“We were however told that GP surgeries were not being considered for this purpose at this time.”