Covid-19 Vaccinations

COVID-19 vaccination

Everyone aged 12 and over is now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination - check the latest information at NHS COVID-19 vaccination

You need to:

  • book 2 appointments for 2 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine
  • get the 2nd dose 8 to 12 weeks after getting your 1st dose

If you've had your 1st dose at a walk-in vaccination centre, you can book your 2nd dose using this service. You'll need to wait 24 hours after your 1st dose before you can book. 

If you've had a positive COVID-19 test, you should wait 4 weeks from the date you had the test before you book an appointment.

If you're under 40, you'll only be shown appointments for the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.

If you're 40 or over, you'll be asked if you're pregnant. This is to make sure people who are pregnant are only shown appointments for the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.

If you are eligible you do not need to wait to be contacted to arrange an appointment for your COVID-19 vaccination. Book an appointment now by contacting the NHS booking line 119 or book online using the link to the National Booking Service.

The objective of the COVID-19 immunisation programme is to protect those who are at highest risk from serious illness or death. The Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations (JCVI) have set out a prioritisation for persons at risk, ranking eligible groups according to risk, largely based on prevention of death from COVID-19-specific. For full details follow the link to the JCVI Green Book.  

Texting is our preferred method of choice. It enables us to send information to a large number of our patients, for example dates of upcoming vaccination clinics, and we now have the advantage of being able to offer an advice service and appointment booking service based on the texting service. For this to work we require your mobile phone number and your permission to use it for texting purposes. Please contact the Health Centre if we do not have your mobile number or if you have previously opted out of receiving text messages. 

If we do not have a mobile number for you we will contact you by phone or letter, but this process is inevitably slower, time consuming and more expensive for the practice. Please ensure we have your up to date contact details so that we can notify you - if not, please email the practice with your details using this feedback form..

2nd vaccine doses

If you have already received the first dose of the vaccine without suffering any serious side effects you should complete the course. Second doses should be offered 8-12 weeks after the first. 

Booster COVID-19 vaccinations

Booster COVID-19 vaccinations are now available for frontline health and social care workers.

You can also use this service if you have been contacted by the NHS and you are either:

You'll only be able to book an appointment for a booster dose if it's been at least 6 months (180 days) since your 2nd dose of the vaccine.

Younger adults will be not be given a third dose at this stage. This because they will only have completed their course of two vaccinations in the summer, and will therefore still be protected during the autumn and winter when the risk of infection is greater, plus it is thought the immunity provided by the vaccinations lasts longer in this younger age group.

Wait to be contacted

If you are not a frontline health or social care worker, please wait to be contacted by the NHS before booking your booster dose.

If you have been contacted and asked to book your booster COVID-19 vaccination at a local NHS service you may do so by visiting the NHS website or phoning NHS 119. Please do not contact the Health Centre to try to book your booster COVID-19 vaccination. 

Please note, because NHS England has now made it clear that GP practices are expected to resume all normal work, including chronic disease management and preventative screening, most practice are unable to deliver the booster COVID-19 vaccine. This is very disappointing, as practices were responsible for delivering almost 75% of the first two doses, and GPs would very much like to be involved in this valuable work, ideally administrating the booster vaccine at the same time as the flu vaccine, but under the current regulations this is not permitted.

Please ensure we have your mobile number so that we can contact you when clinic dates are available.

Flu vaccinations

This year we are expecting flu to take over from COVID-19 in making headlines, for all the wrong reasons. Last year flu was overshadowed by COVID-19, and the precautions we all took to avoid COVID-19 also protected us from flu. 

What's different this year? During normal times our immune system is constantly challenged by various infections, especially viral URTIs, and as a result we all develop a certain level of background immunity to protect us from colds and flu-like illnesses. The prevalence of viral upper respiratory infections (URTIs) has been relatively low during the past 12 months due to social distancing measures, hand washing and the wearing of face masks, so our defences are relatively poor at present. This means that as we relax restrictions we can expect a surge in the prevalence of URTIs, and when autumn comes, this includes influenza. Unfortunately infection with the delta variant of COVID-19 causes symptoms that include cough, sore throat, headache and runny nose - i.e. all symptoms of a common cold! And it should be remembered that for many influenza is a very serious infection - in most years it kills approximately 10,000 people. Fortunately flu is preventable by a single vaccination.

This year the plan is to offer the flu vaccination to all adults aged 50 and over, and those at increased risk due to chronic disease - more than 30 million people. This same group will also be offered a booster COVID-19 vaccination which will help maintain protection against Covid-19 and new variants for those most at risk, before winter comes. Unfortunately the pratice is not able to offer COVID-19 booster doses at the same time as the flu vaccine.

We have ordered more flu vaccines than usual and encourage all patients in the at risk group to attend for flu vaccination from mid October onwards. 

Please ensure we have your mobile number so that we can contact you when clinic dates are available.

COVID-19 Vaccination and Blood Clotting 

There have been some reported safety issue associated with the AstraZenaca COVID-19 vaccine in the form of abnormal clotting of blood. This occurs almost exclusively in younger patients, and for this reason the AZ vaccine is still considered an important vaccine in the fight against COVID-19 in those aged over 40. If you have any concerns about the AZ vaccine the practice advises reading the comprehensive information about the relative risks of COVID-19 infection and vaccination provided by the Medicines and Health Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations (JCVI). Information can be found by following the link COVID-19 vaccination and blood clotting. 

A statement issued by the JCVI can be accessed by following the link JCVI statement on the AZ COVID-19 vaccine

If you have already received the first vaccine dose without suffering any serious side effects you should have the second dose on time as you may still be at high risk of the complications of COVID-19. You should complete the course with the same vaccine you had for the first dose. This includes people aged 18 to 29 years who are health and social care workers, unpaid carers and family members of those who are immunosuppressed. Whilst it is expected that the first dose of the vaccine will have given you some protection, particularly against severe disease, having the second dose will give you higher and longer lasting protection.

Patients should be reassured that when the time comes for under 40’s to have their first vaccination an alternative to the AZ vaccine will be offered. For those aged under 40 who have already received their first AZ vaccine the current advice is that they should still have the AZ vaccination for their second dose as planned - the new advice only applies to first doses. 

Unless you have an imminent appointment for your first vaccine we request that you access current information online rather than contacting the practice for advice.