INSIDE ONE OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE’S TWO NEW VACCINATION CENTRES:
NEW SERVICES FOR MANSFIELD AND NOTTINGHAM CITY
A MASS Covid vaccination centre to help with the biggest rollout in NHS history is opening at a former Wickes hardware store.
The new centre, on Chesterfield Road South in Mansfield, will be opening to residents on Monday.
The Post has been given a first look at the large site before it opens to give residents an idea of what to expect.
It comes as another local vaccination service is expected to launch at the Forest Recreation Ground in Nottingham today.
This will take the total number of vaccination sites run by the Nottinghamshire CCG to 11 across the county and city.
Dr Hilary Lovelock, local GP and clinical lead for the programme, said: “The opening of this Vaccination Centre is fantastic news and a positive step forward for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire residents.
“This site will accelerate the programme and will mean we can continue to protect the most vulnerable in our community. The opening of this site is a testament to our NHS staff and partners who are pulling out all the stops to vaccinate the most vulnerable at sites across the county.
“I would urge the public to look out for their invitation letter and when they receive it to book an appointment in a timely way at a location most convenient to them.
“We are grateful to all our residents who have responded so quickly to their invitation letters already and we thank them for their patience as we roll out the programme to the next cohorts. Please don’t try to book if you haven’t received a letter.”
It comes as a total of 49,336 people have been vaccinated across the city and county as of January 17, the data shows.
But just 25 people over the age of 80 across Nottinghamshire have received the second dose of the Covid vaccine, according to the latest data.
Figures released by NHS England
The opening of this site is a testament to our NHS staff and partners who are pulling out all the stops to vaccinate the most vulnerable. Dr Hilary Lovelock
on January 21 have revealed Nottinghamshire has some of the lowest rates of vaccinations in the country.
Calls have previously been made by Nottingham’s MPS for a mass vaccination centre to be opened in the county to help speed up the vaccination process.
A letter from the NHS Covid-19 Vaccination Booking Service will allow the public to book an appointment at the new Mansfield site either online or by phone.
Booking through this service will give the public the option of having the vaccine at a range of venues, including Mansfield, Birmingham and Boston.
The NHS stressed that the public will only receive a letter from the NHS Covid-19 Vaccination Booking Service if they live within a 45 minute drive from one of these sites.
And should a person receive a national letter, they can wait for their local letter if that is more convenient.
The new sites will help to ensure that everyone in England is in easy reach of a vaccination service, including rural parts of the country, the NHS added.
The NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG is now delivering the vaccine at three hospital hubs Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham City Hospital and King’s Mill Hospital.
Local Vaccination Services are also now open in: Ashfield Health Village Cripps Health Centre, University Park campus Gamston Community Centre King’s Meadow Campus. Lenton. Richard Herrod Leisure Centre, Carlton. Newark Showground Retford Hospital and Larwood Surgery, Worksop also cover the county, but under a different CCG.