New sites to help boost vaccinations
THREE new Covid vaccination sites are set to open and will offer walk-in appointments for booster jabs.
The Richard Herrod Leisure Centre, Gedling, Victoria Health Centre in Glasshouse Street and Newark Showground will all become available as vaccine booster sites from Monday.
The new walk-in sites will add to more than 50 vaccination sites already delivering the life-saving booster jab to the public.
They come following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s drive to vaccinate as many people as possible before the end of the year.
Each one is expected to administer up to 1,000 vaccines per day.
Existing appointment-only vaccination sites have also increased their slots by thousands to allow people to get their jabs as soon as possible over the next three weeks.
These sites include dozens of community pharmacies in local neighbourhoods, hospital hubs at the Queen’s Medical Centre and King’s Mill Hospital as well as hubs at the Forest Recreation Ground in Nottingham and in Chesterfield Road in Mansfield.
So far, more than 73 percent of over50s in the area have received their booster and thousands of additional appointments have been made.
In Nottingham and Nottinghamshire nearly 40,000 appointments will have been available before the end of the year.
Amanda Sullivan, the accountable officer for NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG, said: “We hope these new walk-in venues will be able to help in driving forward the booster programme even faster as we know these are convenient, local and wellknown settings for the public to quickly receive their jab.
“Our teams have been working hard to increase the capacity of our sites so that we can protect the public as quickly as possible.
We have thousands and thousands of additional bookable appointments available between now and New Year’s Eve and more get added each day.”
The Richard Herrod Centre in Gedling had previously been used as a vaccine hub before being closed down amid the booster rollout.
This prompted some concern from councillors in the area.
In a joint statement councillor John Clarke, the leader of Gedling Borough Council and councillor Michael Payne, the deputy leader, said: “We’re delighted to announce our Richard Herrod Centre in Carlton will be opening as a walk-in vaccination site from Monday to help drive the national effort to vaccinate people with boosters.
“The site will open at 1pm to 5pm on Monday and will operate from 9am to 5pm, seven days a week following that.
“All adults aged 18 and over are eligible for a booster jab, appointments can be booked through 119 or on the NHS website.
“No appointment is needed for the new walk-in centre at the Richard Herrod Centre but long queues might be encountered.
“The public are advised to wrap up warm.
“We’re proud of the role Gedling Borough Council played in helping to administer first and second covid vaccinations to local residents.
“Our simple message now to the public is to get a booster and protect yourself, protect your loved ones, and make sure you have a safe and Covidfree Christmas.”