Practice-based COVID-19 vaccination will begin today, NHS officials have stated, in spite of warnings of major logistical challenges.

Some medical spokespeople have warned that many practices are reluctant to take part in the programme amid concerns about premises and staffing. NHS England promised that “hundreds” of practice vaccine centres will open across England this week, covering every part of the country. It promised that the first care home residents would be vaccinated by the end of the week.

Its director of primary care Dr Nikki Kanani said: “GPs, nurses, pharmacists and other primary care staff are eager to play their part in protecting people against coronavirus. This is the greatest vaccination programme ever undertaken by the NHS and, to help vaccinate people safely we will be working with local communities to deliver it in convenient and familiar settings. As a GP I am proud to be part of this huge national effort to protect our patients against the virus and I would urge the public to come forward when they are called up for the vaccine.”

The Royal College of GPs confirmed that it expected vaccination to begin this week. Chair Professor Martin Marshall said: “GPs and our teams are about to embark on an enormous challenge, delivering the COVID-19 vaccination programme in the community whilst also delivering the expanded flu vaccine programme and the usual care and services our patients rely on us for. There are also logistical challenges but general practice has an excellent track record of delivering mass vaccination programmes, and we want to use this experience to help protect people from COVID-19 and start getting life back to normal again.”

GP Dr Graham Jackson, adviser to the NHS Confederation, said: “This is a significant moment. The largest vaccination programme in the NHS’s history is highly complex, with primary care prioritising vulnerable patients and working with a vaccine that is logistically demanding to deliver. Primary care services are committed to playing an important part in the COVID-19 vaccination programme but in an operation of such complexity they require ongoing support, not least clear and timely advice and guidance.”

The Every Doctor organisation has warned of major logistical problems in getting the vaccine to primary care networks in England. It claimed that some practices were refusing to participate because of concerns about risk and about premises and staffing. One unnamed GP described the situation as “chaotic.”

Dr Julia Grace Patterson, from Every Doctor, said: “We are desperate for this COVID situation to be alleviated for everybody but it’s about doing it in a safe way. One would hope that in a such an enormous nationwide endeavour we could be employing people who have expertise in logistical planning of this type, because we certainly as a country do have those skills.”