Vaccine rollout makes good progress

THE White Horse Health Centre’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout is continuing to make progress.

The first dose of the vaccine has been rolled out to patients over the age of 80; and all nursing and residential homes have been visited, with most residents receiving their first dose.

And the health centre is now making plans to vaccinate patients over the age of 75, and health & social care workers and frontline staff.

Shaunaks Pharmacy, which shares the building on Mane Way with the health centre, has also recently become a mass vaccination site – and the health centre has said it plans to work with the pharmacy to deliver as many vaccines as possible, “as quickly as possible”. 

The health centre says, “You may receive a letter from the national booking team inviting you to get a vaccine at a mass vaccination site. You are welcome to book your appointment via the national booking system or wait to be invited by your GP surgery.

“We have recently had discussions with Shaunaks Pharmacy, who share our accommodation, and have recently become a mass vaccination site and are looking forward to working with and supporting them in delivery of as many vaccines as possible, as quickly as possible to all our patients. 

“Please do try and be clear as to which service will be administering your vaccine so that you attend the correct area of the site. If you have been called by the surgery, you should attend the surgery main doors or the portacabins. If you have booked via the national booking service, you should attend the Shaunaks pharmacy entrance.

“Our progress is as follows but is changing on a daily basis:

• We have attempted to contact all our patients who are over 80 and these patients have received their first dose. If you are 80 years and over and have not been contacted, please telephone the practice to let us know.

• All nursing and residential homes have been visited and most residents have received their first dose.

• We are currently booking appointments for health and social care workers and frontline staff.  If you are a health and social care worker and would like a vaccine, please contact us.

• Plans are in place to visit and vaccinate our housebound patients who are 75yrs and over, within the next 2 weeks.

• We will be contacting our 75yrs and over patients to make an appointment for their first dose over the next 2 weeks.

“We do have to redeploy some of our staff, both administration and clinical, to help deliver this campaign. This could mean you may have to wait longer when accessing some of our services. Thank you for your understanding.”