Search is in vain for walk-in jab in Cornwall

DESPITE news that walk-in sites are open for people to have Covid-19 booster jabs as of this week, there is not a single site where you can get one in Cornwall without a booking.

From Monday, Covid booster jabs started being given at walk-in clinics in England as the NHS aims to increase vaccine uptake before what is expected to be a challenging winter.

The health service said anyone in an eligible group, who had a second dose of a coronavirus vaccine at least six months ago, can turn up at one of hundreds of sites to have a top-up without making an appointment – but there are none in Cornwall.

One Cornwall resident tried to check for her nearest drop-in centre, after receiving a text from the NHS saying booster vaccine are available through a Covid-19 vaccine walk-in service “without needing an appointment”, but that is not the case, as she later discovered.

There is not a single walk-in booster centre in the county, and NHS Kernow says that residents must continue to wait for an invite from their GP.

If residents of Cornwall search online for their nearest such walk-in centre, they are given sites in Plymouth.

The woman who tried to find a walk-in centre for a booster jab on Tuesday this week said: “Yesterday, a search online revealed several in Cornwall.

“I checked again today for opening times to go and get mine done at Camborne Community Centre tomorrow, but lo and behold now there isn’t a single drop-in centre in Cornwall, the closest being Plymouth.

“Nothing in Cornwall at all. Not that many in Devon, either, which goes against what the Government are putting out.

“My partner and I wanted to do the responsible thing and get our boosters as soon as possible, both being over 60, and we were very disappointed that one day the NHS have drop-in centres and the next they don’t. They’ve pulled the rug from under our feet,” the resident added.

“I thought the whole idea was to get the boosters done as fast and smoothly as possible. It flies in the face of all their advice, both online and in the media.”