Chichester city centre to get first mass Covid-19 vaccination hub
People will start to receive their invitations next week
After weeks of waiting, a mass coronavirus vaccination centre is finally set to open in Chichester later this month.
The site will be based at the Westgate Leisure Centre in Via Ravenna for those who are eligible to receive their vaccination.
It comes after a campaign by local residents, council leaders and the city's MP for a more central service.
Until now, residents in the city have had to make journeys to sites in Selsey and Tangmere to receive the jab.
The details of how the site will operate are being finalised and residents will be informed which groups will be able to access the service next week.
A spokesperson for the Sussex COVID-19 Vaccination Programme said:
“The size and speed of the roll-out of vaccination programme has been a phenomenal achievement so far and it is fantastic that we are now close to having vaccinated everyone in the first eligible priority groups across the Chichester district.
"We have listened to local people over recent weeks and we are working to finalise the operational detail of a city centre site which will enable us to vaccinate more people more quickly as we move down the priority groups.”
The NHS is currently working to have offered the vaccination to everyone in the top four priority cohorts - care home residents and staff, those aged 70 and older, healthcare workers and the clinically extremely vulnerable - by Sunday (February 15th).
Across West Sussex, the majority of people aged 80 and over have been completed, while 89.8% of those aged 75-79 have received the first dose vaccination.
Chichester MP Gillian Keegan said:
“The vaccine roll-out has been a massive logistical effort on a scale never attempted before in the UK.
"I’ve been working closely with our local NHS leaders as we’ve progressed, especially to develop a Chichester City centre vaccine hub.
"I am very grateful to the whole team who have worked tirelessly to find an appropriate site to fulfil this need and all the frontline staff who are doing an incredible job vaccinating the most vulnerable in our society, and eventually everybody, against this virus.”
Cllr Eileen Lintill, Leader of Chichester District Council, added:
“We are really grateful to our NHS colleagues for listening to our local residents and providing a city centre vaccination site.
“The fact that they have chosen the council’s Westgate Centre as a vaccination site is wonderful. We are really proud that it is being used for this vital purpose, which will literally save lives and help us to take the first steps back to normality.
“I would like to thank all of those involved in the vaccination programme, from our doctors and nurses through to the fantastic volunteers – we will be forever grateful to you.”
As the programme continues, people aged 70 and over who have not yet been vaccinated and who would like to, are now able to contact the national booking service directly to arrange an appointment.
You can do so online via the NHS England website or by calling 119.