Covid-19 vaccination centres at The Grafton centre in Cambridge and Queensgate in Peterborough to open on festive bank holidays
Two large-scale vaccination centres in Cambridge and Peterborough will open on the festive bank holidays as the drive to increase booster take-up continues.
The vaccine hubs at The Grafton shopping centre in Cambridge and Queensgate Shopping Centre in Peterborough will open on Monday, December 27, Tuesday, December 28 and Sunday, January 2, it has been announced.
Dr David Vickers, medical director, Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust, said the move was designed “to ensure even more eligible people can access their vital vaccination or booster jabs over the holiday period”.
He stressed: “Appointments should be booked via www.nhs.uk/covidvaccine - walk-in facilities will not be available. All other large scale vaccination centres will be closed on these three dates.
“We’d like to thank our amazing staff and volunteers for working over the holiday period to ensure vaccination centres in these two key locations remain open.”
Dr Gary Howsam, chair of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “We strongly encourage people who are eligible to come forward for their booster and it’s never too late to have your first or second dose either. The vast majority of those being hospitalised with serious illness from Covid-19 are those who have not been vaccinated.
“Vaccines are the best way to protect yourselves and your loved ones and reducing covid-related hospital admissions will help the NHS cope better during the winter months and reduce disruption to routine and planned care.”
All large scale vaccination centres will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
Other than those at The Grafton and Queensgate Shopping Centre, they will also close on December 27-28 and January 2.
But all the sites will be open on Wednesday December 29-31 and will be open as usual from Monday, January 3.
The large scale vaccination centres are located at:
- The Grafton Centre, Cambridge CB1 1PS
- The Eatons Community Centre, Eaton Socon, St Neots PE19 8ES
- The Oaktree Centre, 1 Oak Drive, Huntingdon PE29 7HN
- Horsefair Shopping Centre, Wisbech, Cambs PE13 1AR
- Queensgate Shopping Centre, Peterborough PE1 1NT
- Chesterton Indoor Bowls Centre, Logan’s Way, Chesterton, Cambridge CB4 1BL
The government has set a target of offering every adult a booster jab by the end of 2021.
More GP surgeries and pharmacies and new vaccine hubs outside the Royal Papworth Hospital and at the Deakin Centre, beside Addenbrooke’s, are aiding the large-scale sites in stepping up vaccination rates. It has led to record numbers of vaccinations being administered in the last couple of weeks. A few pop-up walk-in booster sites have also been run, but otherwise booster jabs need to be booked.
As of Thursday (December 23), 343,192 boosters had been administered in Cambridgeshire, covering 51.4 per cent of over-12s, although boosters are currently only offered to those aged 18 and over.
The highest number of boosters delivered in one day in Cambridgeshire was on December 21, when 14,459 were administered.
The Omicron variant has been shown to be better at evading vaccine-induced antibodies, meaning a booster offers vital protection.
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Where, when and how to get your Covid-19 vaccination including booster jabs in Cambridgeshire