New Coronavirus vaccination centres open in Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire residents aged 75 and over are amongst those being invited to book a coronavirus vaccination at one of two new vaccination centres to open in the area this week. Today, Monday 1 February, a centre opens at Bedford Heights in Manton Way. It will be joined by another centre later in the week Priory House in Shefford.

People aged 75 and over are being invited to book a vaccination at these centres or at one of more than 70 pharmacy services now operating across the country. If someone cannot or does not want to travel to a vaccination centre when they are invited, they can still wait to have their vaccination at a local GP service or hospital hub. As well as the vaccination centres and pharmacy vaccination services, there are now more than 1,000 GP services and over 250 hospital sites offering vaccinations in England.

Health and social care staff working in Bedfordshire will also be able to receive their vaccination at either Bedford Heights or Priory House.

Both these vaccination centres are being run by Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust (HCT), drawing on its proven track record of delivering local immunisation programmes in the area. HCT has set the centres up with the support of Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Clinical Commissioning Groups, Bedfordshire Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council, Verve Developments Ltd and local volunteers.

Dr Sarah Whiteman, the Medical Director and putative Chair of Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes CCGs said: "We have been working hard with our partner organisations in the lead up to opening these centres. We can now welcome local people in the prioritised age groups with confirmed appointments to receive their vaccine, along with health and social care workers from across our area. This represents a big step forward in helping to beat the Coronavirus pandemic. My sincere thanks go to everyone, volunteers, partners and NHS staff who have worked around the clock to deliver this programme."

Mayor Dave Hodgson said "This new centre at Bedford Heights joins Kings House and the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in the delivery of the Coronavirus vaccines in Bedford Borough, and will make it easier for people to get vaccinated locally which is great news."