Dear Patients,
Our very own Covid Vaccination Programme started in earnest last week at Chancellors Hotel, and the first few clinics have run very smoothly indeed. We have already vaccinated approximately 1200 patients over 3 days without any significant reactions or issues.
All our patients over the age of 80 have now been invited for vaccination with the vast majority happily taking up this offer. This weekend we have been able to extend this invitation to all patients aged 75 and over for next week’s clinics.
All those in this age group (75+) who have a mobile phone registered with us should have now received a text message inviting them to book a vaccination appointment online. Those who do not have a mobile phone will not be disadvantaged as we will ring each and every person in this age group on their landlines over the next week or two to offer them an appointment. As I’m sure you can all understand, this is a process that takes some time so it is likely to be a couple of weeks at least before we can invite the next priority groups (age 70+ and people on the NHS Shielded Patients List).
However no computer-based invitation system is perfect, so if you or a relative are aged 75 and over but are yet to receive a text invitation for your Covid vaccination from us, please ring us on 0161 445 9000 and we will be happy to arrange an appointment for you. We ask that you ring AFTER 2pm any weekday for this purpose to allow us to deal with sick patients who need to get through on the phone lines in the earlier part of the day.
We will keep you updated about how the vaccination programme is progressing, and will make a further announcement when we are in a position to invite the next priority groups (age 70+ and people on the NHS Shielded Patients List).
The order in which we invite patients is strictly set by the government and outside our control so please don’t ask us for the vaccine early, we will invite you as soon as we get to your priority group. For more information on the NHS priority groups for Covid vaccination please see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/priority-groups-for-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccination-advice-from-the-jcvi-30-december-2020/joint-committee-on-vaccination-and-immunisation-advice-on-priority-groups-for-covid-19-vaccination-30-december-2020
Thank you all for your messages of support and goodwill as we work flat out to provide an historic vaccination programme alongside maintaining as much routine care as we can whilst dealing with spiralling numbers of patients with Covid-19.
This vaccination programme is the only way we can all get out of this awful situation so please take up your invitation when it comes.
Warmest regards,
BARLOW MEDICAL CENTRE