Vaccines ‘may go to waste’
Some chemists and health centres offering appointment-free vaccines
A PHARMACIST in Portsmouth is pleading with people to attend walk-in jabs amid fears vaccines could go to waste.
Some chemist shops and health centres around the area are now offering Covid vaccines without an appointment as cases continue to rise.
Alongside the St James’ Hospital vaccine hub, these jabs are now available at Lalys Pharmacy, in Guildhall Walk, Goldchem in Albert Road and the Eastney Health Centre.
Eligible patients will also be able to attend the Waterlooville Health Centre and the Portchester Community Centre for vaccines as of July 17 without booking.
Nash Hooda, the clinical lead at Goldchem Pharmacy, said they had ‘plenty’ of Moderna and AstraZeneca jabs to distribute.
He said: ‘We have been offering walk-in vaccines since Monday. But our problem is we have more vaccines than patients coming in, so we’ve got plenty of jabs that we want to give out.
‘I would encourage everyone to come in otherwise some vaccines could go to waste - the Moderna jab has to be thrown away 24 hours after it's been thawed.
‘The more people who walk through our door to get vaccinated, the more quickly we can get back to normal - and this is especially important as restrictions are being dropped on Monday.
‘It is proven that the vaccine is the most effective way to prevent getting sick.’
As of July 13 a total of 140,847 people had at least one vaccine - or 74.2 per cent of the adult population. And 103,863, or 54.7 per cent had a second.
This is fewer than the national average as 38,193,590 people in England - 77.3 per cent - had a first, and 29,195,138 - or 59.1 per cent had both.
Baldev Laly, the director of Lalys Pharmacy in Portsmouth said: ‘We are ready and waiting for anyone who is yet to have their jab.
‘Since we were asked at the beginning of the year to contribute to the rollout of the Covid vaccination programme, we have been administering doses to those who booked via the government website. Now the amount of people left to vaccinate is relatively small, we have been given the go ahead to throw open our doors and allow people to visit without appointment for the next week.
‘We can take details in person, so you don’t have to know your NHS number, and ask people to be prepared to wait if there is a queue.
‘The thousands of people who have come to see us over the past six months have been so supportive and grateful for what we have been able to offer, I think we should take great pride and inspiration to get us through this final stage.’
Walk-in vaccines are available at:
■ St James' Hospital from 8am to 7.30pm daily throughout July.
■ Lalys Pharmacy, in Guildhall Walk, from 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm daily, and 10am to 2pm on Sunday 18 – 10am to 4pm on Sunday 25, offering AstraZeneca and Pfizer.
■ Goldchem Pharmacy, in Albert Road, from 9am to 12.30pm and 2.30pm - 6pm on weekdays and 9am to 1pm on weekends, offering Moderna and AstraZeneca.
■ Eastney Health Centre, on Friday, July 16 from 4pm to 7pm and Saturday, July 17 from 9am to 2pm.
■ Waterlooville Health Centre, Dryden Close, on Saturday, July 17 from 8.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 5.30pm offering Pfizer.
■ Portchester Community Centre, Westlands Grove, on Saturday, July 17 from 2.30pm to 4.30pm, offering first dose Pfizer.