WE appreciate the difficulties that members of the public are experiencing in booking their COVID booster vaccinations.

We are aiming to add more booster clinics in the forthcoming weeks within Herefordshire, so patients should not have to travel excessive miles to receive their vitally important booster jab.

RELATED NEWS: 

All locations will be published on NHSE’s vaccination website (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination/), and we would encourage everyone eligible to keep checking for local clinics.

General Practice has been at the forefront of the delivery of the COVID vaccination programme.

At the same time, surgeries have been meeting the day-to-day needs of their patients, adjusting to new ways of working to minimise the risk of COVID transmission and to help patients get the best treatment for their needs.

General Practice, together with Taurus Healthcare (the GP Federation for Herefordshire), partners and a team of volunteers have delivered hundreds of thousands of first and second dose COVID vaccinations and booster jabs. Our healthcare teams have worked within practices, at local community centres, within schools, care homes and within local communities to deliver the vaccination programme.

They have also been responsible for the delivery of annual flu jabs. Everyone in General Practice is committed and dedicated to their work, many colleagues having worked six days each week for many months.

We are delighted by the keenness of Herefordshire people to receive their booster jabs and are doing all we can to meet that demand.

Herefordshire has one of the highest uptakes for vaccination in the country with 94.5% of all over 50s and those at risk having received at least one dose, 92.6% a second dose and 60.2% a booster.

However, demand for boosters is currently outstripping our staffing capacity to deliver a jab to everyone who wants one.

We are taking steps to recruit additional staff to the team and will be offering more clinics in the coming weeks and months.

These will be added to the national booking system as and when available, so please do keep checking the system. 

Please be assured that there is enough vaccine for all of our needs and we will do all that we can to provide close-to-home opportunities for Herefordshire people to receive it.

Dr Mike Hearne

GP and MD at Taurus Healthcare, the GP Federation for Herefordshire

  • How have you found the Covid booster roll-out? Have your views heard HERE