The Stroud MP's weekly column.

The great British Covid vaccine roll out is now on and in the coming weeks the top four priority groups - over 70s, residents in care homes, health and care workers and the clinically extremely vulnerable – are receiving it first.

The aim is for all these people, around 13 million, to receive the vaccination by the end of the February half term. When this is completed, the virus will start its retreat from our lives as the most at risk of dying from the virus will be protected. It will take time, but it will happen.

Seven new mass vaccination centres are now in operation in England, with the closest to Stroud at Ashton Gate in Bristol. These hubs have the capacity to vaccinate four people a minute. In addition, pharmacists are now also giving the jab along with GPs and other smaller hubs.

The UK is doing very well in getting people vaccinated. We are the third in the world when it comes to the amount of people we have vaccinated, relative to population, and those in front of us are small countries.

It’s incredibly important that the public ignore a host of vaccination scams.

The vaccine is free. Please never enter any bank or card details to anyone. How people can live with themselves preying on the vulnerable is really beyond me.

Another issue is the continuing misinformation from so-called anti-vaxxers who seem to be more prevalent in Stroud than many other places.

I fully understand and respect people who worry about vaccines or want to find out more information. However, please ignore leaflets and unregulated social media posts. Go to the NHS website or prestigious medical journals like The Lancet for accurate information.

The NHS is close to capacity in Gloucestershire and is under severe pressure. If we adhere to lockdown, reduce our contacts, wash hands and wear masks, we will stop transmission.