A DOCTORS' surgery is hoping to receive its first batch of coronavirus vaccines within the next two weeks.

Constable Country Medical Practice, in East Bergholt, is awaiting to hear from health bosses about the delivery date for vaccines.

It is understood they will be delivered sometime in the next one to two weeks, and that more than 100 people have volunteers to help with marshalling at the surgery.

The program will run collaboratively with two other practices based in Hadleigh and Bildeston, across the border in Suffolk.

To begin with, the surgery in East Bergholt expected to be asked to deliver the Pfizer vaccine to patients.

Due to special requirement for storage and transport, it is delivered in batches of 975 vaccines at a time and they have to be used within three days.

The surgery said it is usually given seven to ten days notice about the delivery date of the vaccine and staff will only make phone calls and invited eligible patients to attend the East Bergholt site.

Due to a change in government guidelines the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine is now being administered 12 weeks after the first dose instead of three weeks.

A statement from the surgery said: "Please can we request that you do not call us with regards to the booking appointments for the vaccination clinic and follow our website or Facebook page for regular updates.

"The reception staff will not be able to answer any queries.

"You can of course continue to call us for any other medical health related query that you may have.

"Patients will have to be invited following the strict criteria we have been compulsorily asked to follow by the Government."

The first cohort of patients to be given the vaccine will be aged 80 or above.

It added: "We need your help to communicate this information to relatives, friends and neighbours in this cohort who do not have access to social media or the internet, by letting them know that we will be calling them soon."