'Grab a jab' in Lincolnshire & Newark
Drop-in appointments are available this weekend.
As the covid vaccination programme in Lincolnshire and across the country enters the final sprint, the NHS is holding a ‘big weekend’ of vaccine-related activity, to encourage people to get vaccinated and help meet the ambition of offering everyone aged 18 or over a vaccination by 19 July.
Lincolnshire will be playing its part in the ‘big weekend’ and aims to make vaccines easily and readily available, by offering a number of walk-in services, where appointments won’t be required, during the weekend.
Second dose vaccinations (minimum eight week gap between first and second dose).
The first of these will be held at The Arboretum, Lincoln (Monks Road entrance), where a mobile unit will offer Pfizer walk-in vaccinations for first doses, on a ‘first come, first served’ basis between 12pm-3pm on Saturday 26 June, to anyone aged 18 or over who is eligible.
On Sunday 27 June, Newlands Pharmacy, Lincoln, will be offering Pfizer and AstraZeneca walk-in vaccinations on a ‘first come, first served’ basis between 10am-2pm, to anyone 18 or over who is eligible, including both first and second doses.
On Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 June, the Storehouse in Skegness will also be providing walk-in Pfizer ONLY vaccinations between 8.30am-5pm using Pfizer for both first and second doses, on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.
In addition to this, both of the county’s Mass Vaccination Centres (MVC) will offer vaccinations on a walk-in basis as follows:
PRSA Mass Vaccination Centre, Boston - offering Pfizer and AstraZeneca walk-ins (no individual choice of vaccine, will be administered according to JCVI guidance), first and second doses, 8am-7pm Saturday 26, Sunday 27 and Monday 28 June.
Lincolnshire Showground Mass Vaccination Centre - offering AstraZeneca ONLY walk-ins, first and second doses for people in cohorts 1-10/aged 40 and over, 8am-7pm Friday 25th, Saturday 26, Sunday 27 and Monday 28 June.
Rebecca Neno, Deputy Chief Nurse, NHS Lincolnshire CCG said:
“We are thrilled with the uptake of the covid vaccination so far in Lincolnshire, and after seven months of vaccinating hundreds of thousands of people across the county we are nearly there.
“We are well on track to have offered everyone eligible a vaccination by 19th July, however, there are some people who might not have taken up the offer of a vaccination to-date, and the walk-ins offer a great opportunity to get a first vaccination or bring forwards your second vaccination if it is eight weeks or more since your first vaccination.”
Walk in sessions are expected to be busy so you're being asked to be patient if you have to wait a few minutes. There is no requirement to be registered with a GP or to have an NHS number to attend, however, if you do have an NHS number and have it to hand this can speed up the process.
Rebecca said:
“In addition to the walk-ins, we have good availability for vaccination pre-booked appointments across the county at our Mass Vaccination Centres at PRSA, Boston, and at the Lincolnshire Showground, as well as at pharmacies in Lincoln and Boston, and also at the Meres Local Vaccination Centre in Grantham. My key message to people is it’s not too late, there is still chance to get vaccinated, and please make sure you get vaccinated twice to gain the maximum protection."
Meanwhile, the Mass Vaccination Centre at the Lincolnshire Showground will celebrate giving its 100,000th vaccination this weekend. The CCG says this is a remarkable achievement coming just four months since the centred opened and less than two months since it hit 50,000 vaccinations.
Rebecca added:
“This is a huge achievement for Terry Vine and his team at the Showground MVC, and I would like to congratulate them and all of my colleagues across the county for what they have achieved and what they continue to achieve. Without them we wouldn’t be entering the final sprint part of the vaccination programme in such a good place."
Meanwhile, walk-in vaccination appointments are also being offered at Newark Showground.