Remember to collect your vaccination card

A NEWBURY resident has reminded patients who get the coronavirus vaccination at Newbury Racecourse to make sure they collect their reminder card.

Joy Nelson praised the overall operation as “very well organised” but said the oversight was causing her concern and she feared it could at some point affect foreign travel for others in the same boat.

Mrs Nelson, who lives in Hampton Road, Newbury, said: “I realised, during the 15 minute wait afterwards, that my medical details form had not been collected.

“A marshal offered to hand it in for me.

“Only when my husband had his jab the next day and came back with a card showing name, date, time, vaccine batch and probable date of the second jab did I realise I hadn’t been given such a card.”

Her husband Terry, aged 76, said he and his wife wished to stress that the overall experience was extremely efficient.

But Mrs Nelson added: “It’s proving very difficult to sort this out with the doctors’ surgery concerned so I want to warn those still to go for jabs to make sure they get this card while they are there.

“The fact that this info is ‘on our records at the doctor's surgery’ – one of the excuses given to me – is hardly likely to be accepted by foreign border controls.”

Berkshire West Clinical Commissioning Group spokeswoman Sally Moore said: “The cards patients are given are reminders of their second vaccination appointment.

“They will also be contacted directly by their surgery when their second vaccination is due.

“We have received no guidance that they serve as proof of vaccination to facilitate travel.”