Cumbrians could be amongst the first in the UK to receive vaccination against coronavirus.

An NHS presentation seen by local democracy reporters revealed that Cumbria and the North East will be the first regions to administer vaccinations in the UK.

A slide from the presentation which has been circulated by the reporters explains the proposed roll-out of a vaccine with "Whitehaven/Carlisle" on the list for week one.

They join The Royal Victoria Infirmary and James Cook Hospital in the early phase.

The NHS presentation revealed that hospitals will serve as hubs administering the Pfizer and BioNTech jab, which was approved by the regulator earlier this week.

Local vaccine services will include primary care and pharmacies.

“Vaccination centres” will also be set up in “large sites such as sports and conference venues set up for high volumes of people.”

The process looks set to begin next week. Although NHS England were unavailable to comment, Cumbria's director of public health Colin Cox said: "What I can say is there’s a huge amount of work going on.

"While it hasn’t been announced yet, I would expect it to be announced very soon that there will be vaccination in Cumbria early next week. Clearly it's good news.

"It would be astonishing if there was not some vaccination starting next week but from what hub I don't know."

When asked why Cumbria is top of the list, he said that it would be a logistical move rather than one influenced by the effect of Covid-19 on the county.

"I suspect it's been done on the basis of who can do it" he said.

Britain’s approval of the Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday has been called a world first in speed and efficiency.

However, health experts have been at pains to reassure the public that the jab is still safe. Dr John Campbell, retired nursing lecturer and academic said: “It emphatically hasn’t been rushed.

"They’ve gone through all of the stages they would normally go through. This is a very thorough job, they’ve just got their act together.”

Cockermouth based firm Eco will play a key role in the “cold chain” that is required to safely transport the vaccines.