Isle Of Wight Residents Urged To Wait For COVID Booster Vaccination Invitation Letter

Residents on the Isle of Wight are being urged to wait for an invitation to book a COVID vaccination booster.

As the first anniversary of the biggest vaccination programme in the history of the NHS fast approaches, eligible people continue to be invited for a booster jab.

People can receive their vaccination either from their GP or from the Riverside Centre in Newport, which is run by Solent NHS Trust.

However, people are being urged to wait until they are invited before they book in their jab so that capacity can be focused on those with highest clinical need first.

Currently, people in cohorts 1-9, where it has been at least six months since their second dose of the vaccination, are being invited for their booster jab.

Dr Michele Legg, Clinical Director for Hampshire Southampton and Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group, said:

“We understand that many people are very keen to be vaccinated as soon as is possible, and we urge people to wait until they receive their booster vaccination invitation before they try to book at one of our four GP-led vaccination sites or the Riverside Centre.

“People can book a slot at the Riverside Centre by using the National Booking Service website or by calling 119, with new slots being made available regularly. Alternatively, you can wait to be contacted by your GP to receive your booster at your surgery.

“We have booster vaccinations on the Island, so you do not need to make an appointment on the mainland.”

People should also ensure they keep their vaccination appointments or cancel them if they are no longer able to attend, or it is no longer needed, so they can be reallocated to someone else.

Stephanie Clark, Senior Clinical Lead for the Solent vaccination programme, said:

“The Riverside Centre is open for people to book their booster vaccinations via the national booking system, as well as for anyone aged 12-15 who may not have been vaccinated in their school.

“In addition, the centre, along with GP-led sites, continues to be open for walk-ins for people aged 16 and over who still need to have their first and second (eight weeks after first vaccination) COVID-19 vaccinations. Please look at the grab a jab website for the times of these walk-in sessions.

“While the majority of people are keeping their appointments, we are seeing an increase in people not keeping their booked appointments and therefore people are having to wait longer for an appointment than necessary.

“If you can no longer keep your appointment, then please cancel it so we can offer it to someone else.

“We encourage people to come forward to receive their vaccines and we look forward to welcoming you to the centre.”

More than 2.7m COVID-19 vaccines have been delivered across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight since the launch of the vaccination programme in December last year. This is thanks to the incredible continued efforts of health and care partners and an army of dedicated volunteers.

To book a vaccine appointment, including for your booster vaccine, or to see where walk-in clinics are available, visit https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-walk-in-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccination-site

Cohorts 1-9 of the COVID-19 vaccination programme are:

• Residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults
• All those 80 years of age and over and frontline health and social care workers
•  All those 75 years of age and over
• All those 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals (not including pregnant women and those under 16 years of age)
• All those 65 years of age and over
• Adults aged 16 to 65 years in an at-risk group
• All those 60 years of age and over
• All those 55 years of age and over
• All those 50 years of age and over