New drive-through vaccination clinic opening at Ewood Park

A new drive-through COVID-19 vaccine clinic is opening at Ewood Park this week giving local residents the chance to score their hat-trick of COVID jabs at the home of Blackburn Rovers!

From Tuesday, January 11, anyone aged 12 years and above will also be able to walk into the pop-up facility which will be based on Car Park D off Bolton Road, Blackburn.

It will be open 8.30am until 7.30pm, seven days a week, and run by a team from Everest Pharmacy, with support from Army personnel. It is offering booster jabs, as well as first and second doses to everyone aged 12 and over. 16 and 17-year-olds can also get their boosters at this site if it’s been at least 91 days since their second dose.

The new site is part of the national drive to get as many people boosted as possible due to the new COVID-19 variant and is one of only a few drive-throughs in the country.

No need to book, just drive in or walk-up. The public will be able to either go inside the mobile unit for their jab if they are a walk-in or park in a bay in their car and the vaccinator will come to them.

Jane Scattergood, Chief Nurse and Senior Responsible Officer for Lancashire and South Cumbria, is urging people to get their booster jab without delay.

“Anyone aged 16 and over who has had a second vaccine more than 91 days ago should come forward and get their booster. But importantly, we also very much want to see you if you haven’t had a vaccine at all yet. It’s never too late to have your first dose and there will be no questions asked – we will just be pleased that you’ve come forward and we will give you a vaccination that offers the best protection against the virus.

“The new Omicron variant is spreading extremely quickly and we are seeing more people in hospital with COVID-19 than we have for many weeks. There’s no room for complacency – we’re asking people to have their vaccines as soon as possible and not wait, whether it’s your first, second or booster.”

All adults in England are eligible for a booster COVID vaccine, as long as it has been three months (or 91 days) since your second dose. People also have to wait 28 days after a positive COVID test result to have a vaccine (or 12 weeks if aged 12-17).

Prof Dominic Harrison, Blackburn with Darwen’s Director of Public Health, commented: “We now know that two doses of the COVID vaccine are not enough to protect us against the latest variant.

“The booster is massively important in the fight against the Omicron variant to give us maximum protection, and to significantly reduce our likelihood of needing hospital treatment should we become ill with COVID. It is the best protection we have, alongside continued infection control practices, to help us safely navigate this stage of the pandemic.”

Councillor Mohammed Khan CBE, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, added: “I’m very proud that Blackburn with Darwen is able to host the county’s first drive-through vaccination site and am hopeful that the convenience will encourage more residents to get their booster dose at this critical stage in the Omicron wave.

“My thanks goes to Blackburn Rovers FC for their continued support for our pandemic response.”

Further details are available here on where you can book your vaccine at www.healthierlsc.co.uk/getmyjab