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GP surgeries being put on the booster front line locally
14/12/2021
Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group says they are working on expanding local capacity via GP led local vaccination services
Yesterday we reported on the growing number of people who had been questioning why they have been unable to receive a COVID vaccination locally in North Oxfordshire. Ahead of the announcement of the acceleration of the booster programme at the weekend we asked the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (OCCG) why people were being asked to travel to places like Kidlington, Oxford, Towcester and Northampton, with nothing available locally in North Oxfordshire.
Banbury FM has now received a response with the OCCG telling us they are working on expanding local capacity using GP services. The statement gives no further details as to locations and when this is expected to start but suggests “New appointments will be added regularly so please keep checking if there is nothing available when you first look”.
On Sunday night Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that he was accelerating the booster programme to enable everyone to have a jab, bringing forward the target completion date from the end of January to the end of this month. He warned that some other medical appointments were likely to be affected by this decision.
The NHS statement to Banbury FM says: “Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on 12 December about the booster programme we are working on expanding local capacity via our GP led local vaccination services and will be updating the public via our website and other channels, such as social media, as this is confirmed.
“From Wednesday 15 December the booster vaccination programme is opening up to all adults aged 18 and over. The aim is to offer every adult the chance to book a covid-19 booster vaccine by the end of the year to help protect against the Omicron variant. Many of our vaccination clinics run bookings through the National Booking Service. New appointments will be added regularly so please keep checking if there is nothing available when you first look. Alternatively, patients will be contacted by their GP practices offering them an appointment for their booster vaccine.”
On Sunday morning long queues formed for a two-hour Grab-A-Jab pop-up vaccination clinic at the Edmunds Road car park in Banbury. The announcement of the clinic had been seen by some via a paid advert on social media which was then shared to a number of local forums. The clinic was oversubscribed with a number of people turned away, although the social media advertisement continued to run through the day.
The NHS statement said: “The NHS would like to thank the local people in Banbury for the community spirit they displayed when the Health on Move vaccination van visited the town to deliver the booster vaccination for eligible people on Sunday 12 December. The event was publicised effectively in advance via social media and there was good local turnout which led to 150 doses of the vaccine being delivered at the site in Edmunds Road. We are grateful to people for showing patience while waiting for the late arrival of the van and to receive their booster vaccine.”
In Northamptonshire COVID-19 booster jabs are being made available at a pop-up clinic at Brackley Methodist Church on Brackley High Street tomorrow between 11am and 6pm. The clinic will be open to anyone aged 18 and over who had their second dose of a COVID vaccine at least three months ago.
A date for a further Grab-A-Jab pop-up vaccination clinic in Banbury is likely to happen next week. A message posted on Twitter by the OCCG after Sunday’s session said: “We have used up all our doses but will be back again w/c 20 December with some more.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam