Centre will deliver thousands of jabs a week
SLOUGH: A mass vaccination centre has opened up at Salt Hill Activity Centre which will be able to deliver thousands of coronavirus jabs each week, writes Grace Witherden.
The Slough site is one of 10 new sites which officially opened on Monday and is available for people aged 80 and over who live up to a 45-minute drive away.
The NHS said no one should contact them as people will be invited when it is their turn, and people cannot get vaccinated by just turning up.
More than one million letters have already been sent out.
The NHS said vaccination centres offer a ‘convenient option’ for those who do not want to wait to be contacted by their GPs or hospitals.
There are 17 centres in total and people will have the option of choosing to arrange a vaccination at one of the sites through the national booking site.
Professor Stephen Powis, NHS England’s medical director, said: “The NHS vaccination programme has got off to a strong start with our hard-working staff delivering more than three million vaccinations while also dealing with the latest wave of coronavirus infections.
“This is accelerating as more vaccine supplies come on stream
with more sites opening all the time so that we can protect as many people as swiftly as possible.
“The rapid progress we have already made is testament to NHS staff who are pulling out all the stops to vaccinate the most vulnerable while caring for so many people who are seriously ill with COVID.”
Appointments will be staggered to allow for social distancing and people are urged not to turn up early to avoid queues.
Once patients arrive they will be greeted by volunteers who will marshal the car parks and register them. They will receive a pre-vaccination assessment before they have their jab. The process should take well under an hour.