COVID-19 Vaccine Information

Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine

Booster Programme

It is planned that the booster programme will start during the week commencing 20 September (depending on supply and clinical guidance).

There must be a gap of a minimum of 6 months from the first vaccination to the booster dose.

Some GP surgeries are offering the booster programme and if you are in the cohorts below you will be invited to book an appointment with them directly – do not contact your surgery, they will contact you.  Alternatively you can book via the National Booking System to attend a vaccination centre or pharmacy – please wait for an invitation to do this. There are NO walk-in facilities for boosters to ensure safety

• those living in residential care homes for older adults
• all adults aged 50 years or over
• frontline health and social care workers
• 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

12 – 15 year old children and young people

12 – 15 year old children and young people will be receiving information and consent sheets for their parents and guardians over the coming weeks. This vaccination programme will be delivered through the SIAS teams in schools. Additional sessions are being planned for those 12 – 15 year olds who do not attend mainstream school.

For further information on the Booster and 12- 15 year old programmes please check out our FAQs

Vaccination of home-schooled children aged 12 – 15 years

If your child is educated at home, you will be contacted by the SAIS team who will arrange appointments to dispense the vaccination.

If you are concerned that your child may not be registered please check with your local education department, and make sure they are included in the programme.

COVID-19 Vaccination Leaflet

Download the leaflet in English
Download the leaflet in Polish
Download the leaflet in Romanian
Download the leaflet in Pashtu
Download the leaflet in Arabic
Download the leaflet in Farsi

Public Health vaccination calls

The Public Health teams at Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes councils are calling local people who have not yet had their vaccine.

Whilst vaccination rates are good in BLMK, every vaccination counts in helping to protect us all. From Wednesday 11 August, they will be calling unvaccinated residents to understand if there are barriers to them getting vaccinated that they can help with. Perhaps, the patient is not sure how to book, or they want some more information, or they want to talk to a GP.

The call handlers will not have access to the recipient’s medical records and will not be discussing any medical issues, but they can arrange for them to be called by a dedicated GP if they have any concerns.

If they are unable to reach the patient by phone, they will send a text message or email. The messages will be from this number 0300 300 8691 and will be marked from MK CBC Beds. Emails and SMS will clearly say they are from the local council.

The call handlers will not ask for any personal or financial information. If anyone receives a call and has any concerns about whether it is from the team, please call 0300 300 8691 to check.

An equivalent service is currently being planned for roll out in Luton – an update will be published with more details when they are known.

Timing between 1^st and 2^nd doses of the vaccine

Although the majority of protection comes from the first dose, having your second dose is still extremely important too as it will improve and prolong your immunity – so please don’t skip your second dose. You will need to wait 56 days between the first and second dose.

As set out by the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) a period of 56 days (8 weeks) from the first dose must have passed before a second dose can be given.  We are therefore unable to administer doses before this period has elapsed.

A longer period can take place between doses if it is not possible to attend at the 8 week timescale.

If you are aged 16/17

The following vaccination centres will be vaccinating 16-17 year olds, as walk ins (they are to receive one dose only):

• Bedford Borough
  • Bedford Heights, Manton Lane, Bedford, MK41 7BJ
  • Kidman’s Surgical Chemist, 141-143 Castle Rd, Bedford, MK40 3RS
  • Janssens Pharmacy, 28 Ampthill Rd, Bedford MK42 9HG
  • Smarta Healthcare, 5 Stephenson Court, Priory Business Park, Bedford, MK44 3WJ

  Central Bedfordshire

  • Priory House, Monks Walk, Shefford, SG17 5TQ
  • Rufus Centre (W Cheeseman & Son Pharmacy), Steppingley Rd, Flitwick, Bedford MK45 1AH
  • Watling House, High St N, Dunstable, LU6 1LF

  Luton

  • Denbigh pharmacy, 60 Denbigh Road, Luton, Beds LU3 1NR
  • Farley Hill, Community Centre, Delphine Close, LU1 5RE
  • Redgrave Children and Young People’s Centre, 27 Redgrave Gardens, Luton LU3 3QN
  • Warden Hill Chemist Ltd, 170 Barton Road, Luton, Beds LU3 2BE

  Milton Keynes

  • Rainbow Pharmacy, Michael Young Building, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6BB
  • Saxon Court, 502 Avebury Boulevard,  Milton Keynes, MK9 3HS

This group will be unable to book an appointment through the National Booking Service.  This group will only be given the Pfizer vaccination.

If you are aged within three months of your 18th birthday

Teenagers within three months of their 18th birthday are now being offered the jab – the aim of this is to protect people leaving school before they start work or university. This group will have the option of either booking via the National Booking Service (NBS) or they can walk in to one of our drop-in vaccination sites.

If you are aged 18 or over

Patients aged 18 or over will now start to receive letters from the NHS England National Booking Service advising that they are able to book COVID-19 vaccination appointments.

Patients in this age group are being asked to book through the national booking line for an appointment at a vaccination centre.

To arrange your vaccination appointment:

• You can use the online National Booking Service – http://www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination
• You can call 119 free of charge, anytime between 7am and 11pm seven days a week.

Across BLMK there are vaccination centres that are available to book through the national booking systems. To further support the vaccination programme, we are also running walk-ins at a number of locations across the whole of BLMK. Full details of where we are and when, are on our drop-in page.

12-15 year old children

Children aged 12 to 15 who are clinically vulnerable to COVID will be contacted by the NHS and invited for their vaccine soon. Those who are eligible include those with Down’s syndrome, or undergoing many cancer treatments, have had organ or bone marrow transplants or who are on the learning disability register.

The COVID vaccine will also be offered to children aged 12 years and over who live with someone who is immunosuppressed, such as those receiving chemotherapy or who have had a transplant.

Following the announcement on vaccination for the above groups, we are now waiting for formal guidance on the process.  We expect to receive this shortly, but in the meantime if you have any questions, please email [email protected]

Vaccination record queries

Vaccination records should appear in your medical records in GP systems within 48 hours of the entry into the point of care system.

If you believe there is information missing from your vaccination record (more than 48 hours after the vaccination event) or if you see incorrect information on the vaccine record, our team can investigate this for you.

The quickest way is to email: [email protected] with the following details:

• Your name
• Date of birth
• NHS number
• A photo of your vaccination card
• Location of where you had your vaccines

And we can look into your query and get back to you.

Second doses of the vaccination

Some people may be feeling concerned that they haven’t received an appointment for their second dose yet.  We have some helpful information on our website which should help: https://www.blmkccg.nhs.uk/covid-19/second-vaccination-doses/

A leaflet explaining more about the vaccine and answering some of your questions, is available to download here.

Large vaccination sites in BLMK which are booked via http://www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination or by calling 119

Vaccination centres in BLMK which are booked via http://www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination or by calling 119If the large vaccination site closest to you is unavailable, this may be due to the current slots being fully booked. If you do not want to book an alternative centre, please continue to check regularly as new appointments will be released.

GP led vaccination sites

If the vaccination centre closest to you is unavailable, this may be due to the current slots being fully booked. If you do not want to book an alternative centre, please continue to check regularly as new appointments will be released.

Appointments at these sites are accessed by contacting your GP practice.

A vaccine guide for A guide for women who might get pregnant, who are pregnant or are breastfeeding their baby, is available here.An easy-read vaccination guide is available to download here.

An easy-read guide on what to expect after your vaccination, is available to download here.

An easy-read vaccination consent form for adults ia available to download here.

A leaflet explaining why you may have to wait for the coronavirus vaccine is available to download here.

A poster showing the priority list for the coronavirus vaccine is available to download here.