WV Active Bilston-Bert Williams is latest NHS Covid-19 jab site

WV Active Bilston-Bert Williams has begun to support local GPs to deliver their Covid-19 vaccination services today (Monday 1 March, 2021).

The site at the City of Wolverhampton Council-run leisure centre has been approved by NHS England & Improvement and will give additional capacity and enable more patients to receive their Covid-19 vaccination in Wolverhampton.

Dr Salma Reehana, Clinical Chair, Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group, said: "We hope that, by delivering the vaccine at sites such as WV Active Bilston-Bert Williams, the opportunity to have the vaccine is accessible to our most vulnerable populations.

“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 Linda Leach, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Services, said: “We are pleased to be able to work closely with health colleagues to drive forward the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Wolverhampton at pace.

"Like Aldersley Leisure Village, which opened as a vaccination centre last month, WV Active Bilston-Bert Williams is currently closed because of the national lockdown and we are only too happy to make both facilities available to deliver life-saving jabs to local residents.

"We want to make it as easy as possible for people to get their vaccine as and when they are invited to do so, and both these leisure centres benefit from ample parking and good public transport links. The size of the buildings mean we will also be able to upscale the number of vaccines we can deliver from both sites as and when required.

“We know the vaccine is the fastest way in which we are going to get out of this pandemic and the quicker people are protected, the quicker we can get back to normal so, as soon as you are contacted to have your jab, please make sure you get it.”

The vaccine is currently available to people in the first six priority groups. Full details about priority groups is available at www.gov.uk/coronavirus.

There are currently three ways to get your Covid-19 vaccine in Wolverhampton:

·       You may be contacted by your GP to attend a local GP led Vaccination Service, who are also vaccinating patients in care homes and people who are housebound.

·       You may receive an invite letter in the post to have the vaccine at a Vaccination Centre such as the Black Country Living Museum or Millennium Point in Birmingham. If you receive the letter from the national service and can travel to the Vaccination Centre safely, it is recommended that you book using the details the letter provides.

·       You may receive the vaccine at a Hospital Hub after a hospital stay or when attending for other appointments.

All of the vaccines currently available, have met strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness set out by the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). More information about the vaccines, and the answers to frequently asked questions, can be found at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/covidvaccine.

Latest figures show there were 154 new cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people in Wolverhampton over the seven days to 24 February. That means 405 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.
 

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

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.