Anyone aged 50 and over can get their first dose of the Covid-19 jab by registering on the door at certain local Vaccination Centres now.
Those who are eligible can arrive at on the following Vaccination Centres without an appointment from today until (and including) April 2nd :
• Saddlers Centre, Walsall.
• Tipton Sports Academy, Sandwell
• WV Active Aldersley , Wolverhampton
Or, for the Sadlers Centre and Tipton Sports Academy, they can book by calling 119 or online at www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination until the 29th March.
Take-up of the vaccine has been strong with more than 500,000 people across the Black Country and West Birmingham having had their first dose. However, there are still a number of people in eligible groups who haven’t come forward which has left us with some additional vaccine stock which is available for all those over 50 or those living with an underlying health condition to access from now until April 2nd.
Sally Roberts, Chief Nurse for Black Country and West Birmingham CCGs said: “We are urging everyone who is aged 50 or with an underlying health condition to come and get their Covid-19 vaccine now.
“To make it even easier to get your vaccine, from today until April 2nd we are also inviting people to arrive without an appointment at a select number of our sites in Walsall, Sandwell or Wolverhampton. Please remember to bring your NHS number and have your date of birth ready.”
Everyone will receive a health status check and a pre-vaccination assessment before they have their jab at all sites.
We ask that those who are not in an eligible group do not turn up, checks will be made and people will be turned away if they are not eligible.
Four in five people in the first nine priority groups have now received at least one dose since the NHS vaccination programme, the biggest in health service history, kicked off a little over 100 days ago.
Far fewer appointments will be available for first doses from next week as the bulk of available supplies are used to full vaccinate people with a second jab.
The proportion of people aged 50-54 having their first jab has shot up over the past week from 42% to seven in 10 with the NHS now putting a laser focus on inviting everybody in the most at-risk cohorts protected ahead of 15th April and more constrained supply of available doses next month.
People with a learning disability or living with an underlying health condition like serious asthma, who are yet to get their jab are being urged to book before March 29th, with some GPs calling each of their unvaccinated patients personally to encourage uptake.