Roll out of Covid-19 vaccine continues across city

The roll out of the Covid-19 vaccine is continuing in Wolverhampton – with people urged to get theirs as soon as they are invited to do so.

The vaccine is currently available to people in the first priority group – people aged 80 and over, care home residents and staff and health care workers at high risk – and will be rolled out to others based on factors such as their age and risk in the near future.

The vaccine is being delivered from New Cross Hospital and a number of primary care sites. All GPs in Wolverhampton are linked to the primary care sites, and will offer the vaccine to patients as they become eligible.
Please note, people will be contacted by the NHS when they are able to have the vaccine; there is no need to call their GP or pharmacy. For details of the priority list, visit www.gov.uk/coronavirus.

Vaccination centres capable of treating large numbers of patients will be established across the region in the coming weeks as further supplies of the vaccine become available, and it will also be offered at community pharmacies; further details will be confirmed in due course.

Dr Salma Reehana, Clinical Chair, Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group, said: "We hope that, by delivering the vaccine at sites in the community across the city, the opportunity to have the vaccine is accessible to our most vulnerable population.

“We're working with our GPs and partners to ensure that we can vaccinate those with most need as outlined by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

“We will be in touch with those eligible for a vaccine as soon as we have appointments available – there’s no need for people to contact their pharmacy or GP – and I'd encourage people to step forward when they’re asked to do so because this is our opportunity to protect ourselves and each other.”

Councillor Ian Brookfield, Leader of the City of Wolverhampton Council, said: "The Covid-19 vaccine is the fastest way in which we are going to get out of this pandemic, so it's crucial that we get people vaccinated as quickly and safely as possible.

"We have worked closely with colleagues in the NHS and primary care and I'd like to thank everyone for the incredible work they've done to get these vaccination sites live so quickly.

"The vaccine is safe and all the evidence suggests it is effective against the new, more contagious strain of Covid-19 which is causing so many infections.

“So, please can I urge everyone, as soon as you contacted to have your vaccine, that you make sure you get it – because the quicker people are protected, the quicker we can get back to normal."

People will need to registered with a GP surgery in England in order to receive the vaccine. Anyone who is not registered with a GP should visit www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/gps for details of how to do this.

The vaccines, developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca have met strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness set out by the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Latest figures show there were 947.1 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people in Wolverhampton over the seven days to 5 January. That means 2,491 people in the city tested positive for the virus in that seven day period – though the true number of new cases will likely be considerably higher.

The latest information and guidance around coronavirus is available at www.gov.uk/coronavirus and on the council’s own coronavirus pages at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/coronavirus. Further details of the lockdown restrictions currently in place, and the answers to frequently asked questions, are available at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/covidalert.

Anyone with symptoms of Covid-19, which include a fever, a new continuous cough or a change to the sense of taste or smell, must immediately self-isolate and book a PCR test by visiting www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or calling 119.