COVID-19 Vaccine Information

Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine

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

Further to recent reports of withdrawal of Astra Zeneca vaccine from some countries, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency have issued this statement –

Geraint Davies, Strategic Vaccination Lead for Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes said:

“Some of our residents have received letters informing them that their second vaccination has been rescheduled.

We want to give our residents assurance that they will receive the second dose of their vaccination within the recommended 11-week period.

Some residents were booked in to receive their second dose slightly earlier than 11 weeks, so that we could maximise our workforce and vaccinate as many of our residents as possible. With vaccine supplies now being constrained for the next four weeks, we have amended some appointments so that residents will be vaccinated within the 11-week window.

This will allow us to schedule in second doses and continue to deliver first vaccinations to people in the first 9 cohorts.”

Dr Phil Bryan, MHRA Vaccines Safety Lead said,

“Vaccine safety is of paramount importance and we continually monitor the safety of vaccines to ensure that the benefits outweigh any potential risks.

It has not been confirmed that the report of a blood clot, in Denmark, was caused by the COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca.

The Danish, Norwegian and Icelandic authorities’ action to temporarily suspend use of the vaccine is precautionary whilst they investigate.

Blood clots can occur naturally and are not uncommon. More than 11 million doses of the COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca vaccine have now been administered across the UK.

Reports of blood clots received so far are not greater than the number that would have occurred naturally in the vaccinated population.

The safety of the public will always come first. We are keeping this issue under close review but available evidence does not confirm that the vaccine is the cause.

People should still go and get their COVID-19 vaccine when asked to do so.”

If you are aged 40 or over

Patients aged 40 or over will now start to receive letters from the NHS England National Booking Service advising that they are able to book covid 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 system and there are vaccination centres run by local GP’s.

If you are Shielding

If you were informed by either your GP, the NHS or the Department of Health and Social Care to shield as you are clinically extremely vulnerable, you will now be contacted by your Practice to arrange an appointment for your vaccine at the GP led centre. This may take a couple of weeks as GPs work their way through their lists.

If you are aged 70 or over

If you are aged 70 or over and have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19, you are now being asked to contact the NHS to arrange your vaccination.

Until now the NHS has asked people to wait until they are contacted to help ensure that those who are most vulnerable are protected first – and that remains the case for most people.

If you are over 70 there are a number of ways that you can 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.
• You can contact your GP practice.

Across BLMK there are large vaccination sites that are available to book through the national booking system and there are vaccination centres run by local GP’s.

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

If 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.

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

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.

An easy-read vaccination guide is available to download here.

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 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.