GP leaders in the county are reassuring people aged 55 and over that they are expecting significant additional quantities of vaccine to arrive in Gloucestershire shortly and that residents will not need to travel outside of the county for their COVID-19 vaccination if they do not wish to.
Local GP services will be in touch soon, if they haven’t already, to offer an appointment slot locally to people aged 55 or over at one of 10 Primary Care Network GP led vaccination centres across the county.
Residents are politely asked not to call their GP surgery – they WILL be in contact.
Many people in the current priority groups will have also received a national letter from the NHS giving them the option to use the national booking website: www.nhs.uk/covidvaccination or phone 119 to book a vaccination appointment at other available services.
Through the national booking website or phone number, residents can choose to make an appointment at one of two pharmacy locations in the county – Boots in Gloucester and Badhams Pharmacy in Bishops Cleeve, subject to availability.
Some out of county services e.g. the large vaccination centre in Bristol, may be available to certain residents in priority groups (based on where they live) through the national booking system.
The local NHS is also looking to increase the range of additional vaccination services available in the county, with news on this expected soon.
Clinical Chair of NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group, Dr Andy Seymour said:
“Significant additional vaccine supplies are expected shortly and our GP-led PCN services are once again poised to move rapidly through the priority groups.
We can assure residents aged 55 and over that they won’t be left behind and will be contacted soon by local GP services, if they haven’t already. They will be able to book their vaccination at a site close to where they live.”