Join the thousands getting their Covid boosters

Thursday, 11 November 2021 22:06

By David Murphy

Residents are being urged to get their booster Covid jabs as soon as they are able to have one.

Bury’s four GP-led vaccination centres have already given 26,500 doses to local people who had their second Covid jab at least six months earlier. A further 6,000 have been given to Bury residents at regional sites, hospitals and local pharmacies.

People over 50 and those with underlying health conditions are being invited to have their Covid booster and their flu jab at the same time – by appointment only - at one of the local clinics: the Elizabethan Suite in Bury, Prestwich Walk-in Centre, Ramsbottom Civic Hall, and Radcliffe United Reformed Church. People are being invited in the order they had their second jab, and they can choose to have the Covid booster, flu jab or both.

There has also been a change to the national rules this week. This allows people who had their second jab just five months ago to go online and book an appointment for their booster as soon as the six-month deadline arrives: see https://tinyurl.com/kdcajhfw

Lesley Jones, Bury’s director of public health, said: “It’s essential that eligible people go for their booster jab if we are to crack down on this virus. Research shows that the effectiveness of the vaccine diminishes over time, so we need to keep our defences up.

“The infection rate across Bury is still very high, at around 400 cases per 100,000 people, so coronavirus is still very much with us. And, at winter time, our NHS and care workers have to cope with other serious illnesses such as the flu, and we need to protect ourselves and take the pressure off these public services which we all rely on.”

The latest figures show that 138,706 people in Bury have received their first Covid vaccination, and 125,674 have gone for their second jab.

Details of the Covid vax clinics in Bury are here: https://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=15987