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The COVID-19 vaccination programme in Surrey Heartlands gains further momentum this week as another community vaccination service goes live in Woking.
McLaren has lent its support by providing some of its accessible Woking town centre offices at Victoria Gate which will begin vaccinating people in priority groups with booked appointments from Tuesday (22 December).
Nurses, paramedics, pharmacists and other NHS staff have been working alongside GPs to vaccinate those aged 80 and over, as well as care home workers and residents, identified as priority groups for the life-saving vaccine.
Those who are eligible for the vaccine will be contacted directly by the NHS to book their time slot.
With the new strain of COVID-19 causing infection rates across Surrey to rise rapidly, most of the county (with the exception of Waverley) is now in Tier 4. This means staying at home except for specific purposes – food, medical reasons or work (where you can’t work from home) and following the latest guidance to control the virus and save lives.
Dr Charlotte Canniff, GP and Clinical Chair of NHS Surrey Heartlands Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “Leaving the house for medical reasons, including a COVID-19 vaccination appointment is allowed in all local restriction Tiers. So if you are contacted by the NHS to book a vaccination appointment, it’s crucial that you attend.
"Each service is carefully planned with strict safety measure in place. Our teams are working hard to contact patients in priority groups but it’s important to stress, this will be a marathon, not a sprint.
“Please be patient, when it is your turn you will be contacted by the NHS. When you are contacted, please attend your booked appointment and remember, you need both doses of the vaccine for it to be effective. In the meantime it’s more important than ever to follow the latest government guidance.”
Ruth Nic Aoidh, Executive Director, Purchasing, Commercial, Government Affairs & Legal at McLaren said: “We’re delighted to put McLaren’s office in the heart of Woking town centre to the service of our local community as we continue to help support the NHS and their hard-working teams as they begin to rollout the vaccine to patients.
"Working closely with Woking Borough Council, we’ve moved rapidly to support efforts to tackle Covid as we did earlier this year when our fantastic people contributed technical skills and expertise to help build more ventilators.”
The latest phase of the vaccine roll-out is being co-ordinated by GP-led primary care networks with Surrey County Council, district and borough councils and local community partners all playing a crucial role in preparations. The vaccine will be offered more widely at community venues in other parts of Surrey on a phased basis during the coming months.
For more information about the vaccine visit www.nhs.uk/covidvaccine