A message from our Nurses…

Get your booster at new Blackpool South COVID-19 booster vaccination clinic

A new pop-up vaccination service specifically for the covid-19 vaccination booster programme has opened on Blackpool South Car Park at the end of Yeadon Way, Blackpool.  Opening Friday 24 September, the site will run seven days a week from 8am to 8pm.

This service provides an additional vaccine dose to people who have previously received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to ensure continued protection for those most at risk from COVID-19.

Independent experts, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), have said that for the 2021 COVID-19 vaccination programme, the following people who received vaccination in Phase 1 of the COVID-19 vaccination programme should be offered a third dose COVID-19 booster vaccine.

• those living in residential care homes for older adults
• all adults aged 50 years or over
• all those aged 16 to 49 years with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe COVID-19 (as set out in the green book), and adult carers
• adult household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals

The JCVI advises that the booster vaccine dose should be offered no earlier than six months after completion of the first course of vaccination so please check when you are due your booster before booking an appointment.

Lancashire and South Cumbria Vaccination Programme Senior Responsible Officer Jane Scattergood, said: “The NHS COVID-19 vaccination programme has already prevented 24 million cases and saved more than 112,000 lives across the country.

“As we head into winter we should not drop our guard so I would urge anyone who receives their invitation to come forward and get a booster vaccination.

“Getting a top-up vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones from this cruel virus.”

Book your appointment now by visiting https://bit.ly/bpboostervac

If you have any queries or you require support in using the online system, you can call the Fylde Coast COVID-19 vaccine hotline at 0300 7906856.

COVID-19 Vaccine – Latest

❓We are receiving a large number of comments and questions regarding the COVID-19 vaccinations programme.

Clinics have now been launched at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals and a number of community sites run by GP practices. These clinics have been aimed primarily at those aged over 80.

Please be assured that if you are over 80 and have not been contacted yet, or have a friend or relative who is still waiting, they will be offered a vaccine soon.

Along with all our other local GP practices, we have drawn up lists of these patients, however the Pfizer vaccine comes in packs of 975, so it is not possible to vaccinate everyone at once and so some people have to wait slightly longer for the next batch to be delivered.

Vaccination clinics in the community are being run by a designated practice for each area. In Lytham St Annes, that practice is Fernbank Surgery. These practices are organising the administering of vaccinations to patients of all 6 practices in Lytham St Annes. This means when you are invited for your vaccination it may not be your own GP practice that contacts you, but the local vaccinations service.

The new Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine is being directed initially to people who are housebound or living in care homes, but with more vaccines now becoming available we are confident more people will be vaccinated quickly.

⚠️ The guidance on receiving the second dose of a #COVID19 vaccination has been changed by the UK’s chief medical officer.

🗓️ This means if you had originally been booked for an appointment within two or three weeks, this may be cancelled and rescheduled.

💉 Doing this allows our local #NHS vaccination clinics to double the number of people receiving their initial vaccine. It has been estimated the Pfizer vaccine offers 89% effectiveness from two weeks after it is given and the AstraZeneca 74%.

🙏 We understand some people who have had the first dose are both keen and anxious to get their second as soon as possible and that the delay is not what you were expecting. Please be assured, you will be contacted to either book or reschedule your second dose appointment as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

We would like to thank you for your patience at this time and ask that you do not contact us to book a vaccine. We will be in touch as soon as we possibly can. Thank you

Find out about the roll-out at nhs.uk/CovidVaccine

From 18^th May 2020, the general clinical case definition for COVID-19 has been updated to include loss of or change in smell or taste. It is now:

New continuous cough OR fever OR loss of/change in smell or taste

Everyone, including health and social care workers, should self-isolate if they develop a new continuous cough or fever or loss of/ change in smell or taste.

The individual’s household should also self-isolate for 14 days as per the current guidelines and the individual should stay at home for 7 days, or longer if they still have symptoms other than cough or loss of sense of smell or taste.

If you are concerned that you may have symptoms, please visit https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19/ and use the ‘Check your symptoms’ function for further guidance.