In the next week, Warrington and Halton residents aged 60-64 will receive a letter inviting them to book an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccination.
The quickest and easiest way to arrange an appointment is via the national booking service, which offers appointments at local NHS Vaccination Centres.
Appointments will be available at local venues, including NHS Vaccination Centres at Pharmacy 2U at The Village Hotel and the Imaan Pharmacy at Warrington Islamic Centre.
People aged 65 or over, who should have already been invited for a COVID-19 vaccination, are also being advised to use the national booking service to arrange their appointment if possible. The local GP-led services in Warrington and Halton are currently focusing on vaccinating people aged 16-64 who are clinically vulnerable, while health and social care staff and carers are being prioritised by the hospital-led programme.
The aim of the national booking service is to offer as many options as possible for people to get vaccinated. However, if you are unable to attend one of the sites available on the national booking system, you will still be able to have your vaccine from the local GP-led service and can wait to be contacted directly by your GP practice.
The national booking service is available online at nhs.uk/covidvaccination or by calling 119.
Cllr Maureen McLaughlin, cabinet member for public health and wellbeing said: “Now that the vaccination programme is well underway and we have a clear roadmap out of lockdown, we can finally start to feel cautiously optimistic about the coming months.
“The NHS is moving through the priority groups as quickly as possible, and I would urge everyone who receives an invitation letter to book their appointment as soon as they can. I recently received my first dose of the vaccine at a local vaccination site which was very well-organised. I would like to thank all of the NHS staff and volunteers who are working hard to ensure the sites run smoothly – and the vaccine itself was quick and painless.
“I would also like to thank residents for their continued efforts to bring coronavirus rates in Warrington down, but now is not the time to relax. We need everyone to continue to follow the current restrictions – stay at home, get tested if you have any coronavirus symptoms or if you are unable to work from home, and take up the vaccine when offered it. Even if you have had your first does of the vaccine, it still takes time before it is effective, and so you must continue to follow the rules. Every day we do this is another step towards the restrictions being eased as planned over the coming months, and another day closer to getting things back to normal.”
Warrington’s Director of public health, Thara Raj, said: “Having an effective vaccine is an important part of ending the pandemic. Through the vaccination programme, we can stop those who are most at-risk of serious illness from getting the virus, which will mean a reduction in hospital admissions and fewer deaths.”
To find out more about the coronavirus vaccine, visit: haltonwarringtonccg.nhs.uk/covidvaccineImage
Cllr Maureen McLaughlin having her first dose of the coronavirus vaccination.
