A mobile Coronavirus testing facility is being established in Weydown Road Car Park, Haslemere, from Tuesday 18 May to Thursday 20 May.
Testing
is available to all those with COVID-19 symptoms, but must be pre-booked online. Booking for
this site is open from 5pm the evening before and on the day.
Residents should book on the national testing portal: visiting www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or call the NHS on 119.
Those
without an appointment will be turned away.
You can
walk into the testing centre, but will still need a pre-booked
appointment.
NHS now inviting those aged 44+ to have their vaccination People aged 44 are the latest age group to be invited to book their Covid-19 jab, from today. Around half a million 44-year olds will receive a text inviting them to get their jab through the national booking service. This comes alongside the latest figures that show that more than two thirds of people aged 45 to 49 have now received their first vaccination. The decision to move to people aged 40-43 will be set out in the coming days with the NHS vaccinating in line with JCVI advice and as supplies allow. As with previous age groups, those who prefer to wait to receive an invitation from their local GP service are able to do so.
Surrey Heartlands vaccination programme – some numbers
As at Sunday (18-Apr), Surrey Heartlands had delivered around 680,000vaccines via local GP sites, Hospital Hubs, Community Pharmacies and the Vaccination Centre at Epsom Racecourse. Of these around 160,000 are second doses. Overall Surrey Heartlands continues to perform well and in many areas is exceeding the national average. For example, for people aged over 55 uptake of first doses exceeds 80% and is almost 100% for those aged 75-79. For second doses, the story shows a similar picture for most age groups.
Second doses
Second doses are routinely offered around 11 weeks from the first dose being given. A Local GP-led vaccination site will contact individuals by text or by telephone to arrange an appointment to receive a second dose. In exceptional cases some people will be invited earlier. Please don’t contact the CCG or your GP practice about your 2nd dose appointment unless you’ve not been contacted by the 11th week. Please be patient. If you do need to contact us, details are available on our website: www.surreyheartlandsccg.nhs.uk or via our vaccination enquiry line 0300 561 2500 (Monday-Friday 9.00 am – 4.00 pm). Those who booked via the National Booking System will have made their second appointment at the time of booking.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
You can find a comprehensive set of FAQs on the local programme on our website here.
Welcome to our regular Covid-19 vaccination update. This short update will be published and circulated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, in addition to our weekly vaccination newsletter.
Latest Covid-19 vaccination data The following infographic gives a summary of how we’re doing with our vaccination programme across Surrey Heartlands, as we are approaching having vaccinated almost half of our adult population (with at least one dose):
Vaccination supply update Despite lower levels of vaccine supply during April, we have really good supply over the next two weeks and local GPs are urging all eligible residents to book their jabs as soon as possible. Anyone in these groups can get their jab by responding to invitations from their local GP-led vaccination service (text messages or phone calls) or via the national booking system (letters and texts). Those waiting for second doses will be contacted directly by the teams who delivered their first dose and all second dose appointments will go ahead as planned. GP led vaccination services are also continuing to contact patients who have not yet received their vaccination to offer them an appointment. More information here. Lower supply for April means no new appointments are available for larger vaccination centres and pharmacy-led services after the end of March via the national booking service (online and by calling 119). Vaccination services will continue to focus on those most at risk and second vaccinations (with the vaccine supply for second doses confirmed).
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
You can find a comprehensive set of FAQs on the local programme on our website here.
Do I need to fill out any forms at the vaccination centre? No – all necessary information is already available through our IT computer systems. You do not need to bring a pen or write on any forms to receive your vaccination.
Welcome to our regular Covid-19 vaccination update. This short update will be published and circulated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, in addition to our weekly vaccination newsletter. If you wish to subscribe/unsubscribe please email us at: syheartlandsccg.comms@nhs.net
Large-scale vaccination service to move from Epsom Downs Racecourse to Sandown Park
From 17th May, our large vaccination service at Epsom Downs Racecourse – which people book via the National Booking system – will be transferring to Sandown Park Racecourse. As the country moves out of lockdown restrictions and plans to phase the return of horse racing events at Epsom Downs emerge, we need to relocate the vaccination centre from Epsom Downs to Sandown Park. Vaccination appointments for those eligible will continue at Epsom Racecourse until 15th May. From 17th May all appointments will take place at Sandown Park. Once invited people should continue to book their appointment for the vaccination centre though the National Booking system. We expect the move to Sandown Park to be made without disruption and are grateful to the Jockey Club for their commitment to continue supporting the vaccination programme in Surrey. Local people booking appointments now may receive their first dose at Epsom Racecourse and second dose at Sandown Park. Details on appointment bookings can be found on our FAQS. The site at Epsom also accommodates a Local Vaccination Service which is managed by local GPs. This service will also re-locate within the same timeframe and it is expected to remain within the local Epsom area.
National Booking system trialling text invitations for Covid-19 jab
Yesterday NHS England announced that the NHS national team will now start texting people inviting them to book their Covid-19 jab, making it quicker and easier to get an appointment. Previously all invitations via the National Booking system were made via letter. Nationally, almost 400,000 people aged 55 and over and 40,000 unpaid carers who are now eligible for the vaccination will receive an invitation by text as well as by letter. Similar to text messages which are already sent out by many local GP-led vaccination services, the message will include a web link for those eligible to click and reserve an appointment at the large-scale vaccination centres of pharmacies. The service will also send text reminders 2-3 weeks after the original alert to encourage people to make their appointment if they haven’t already. Texts will arrive in advance of the standard letter, meaning if the trial is successful the solution could enable the NHS to react faster to changing vaccine supplies and fill appointments quickly. This will help increase uptake of the jab, particularly as the NHS moves on to younger age groups.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
You can find a comprehensive set of FAQs on the local programme on our website here. I have had my first vaccination. Do I still have to wear a face covering when shopping and can I hug my grandchildren? Having the first vaccination jab does not guarantee we cannot catch coronavirus but it should reduce how seriously we are affected by the virus if we catch it. This means that even after you have had your first vaccination you could still catch and spread coronavirus to your family and the people you come into contact with. It is therefore really important that you continue to follow current guidance to stay at home as much as possible, continue with social distancing, wear a face covering and regularly wash your hands.
Vaccinations started this morning at St Christopher’s Church. All is running smoothly. I’m liaising with Surrey County Council and Waverley Borough Council to ensure there is sufficient parking for NHS staff and for those being vaccinated who need to park close to the church.
Dedicated parking for NHS staff has been set aside in the Wey Hill Fairground carpark. The car park is busy with workers from the nearby construction site so, more spaces will be found in Weydown Road/Fairground short stay if needed.
Please note, the Covid testing centre has been moved from Weydown Road car park to Godalming tomorrow, Fri Feb 26- Sat Feb 27th to make space.
I have agreed with the NHS team that from March 8th when schools re-open. vaccinations will start later-at 9.20am until 5pm- to reduce morning traffic congestion around St Christopher’s Green/Wey Hill as much as possible.
The plan is for 200 vaccines/day at St Christopher’s, with a rolling program of vaccinations 3 days/week to deliver 200,000 Covid vaccines to cohort 6 over the next few weeks.
Anyone that received first Pfizer jab in December will have their 2nd jab at GLive where the space and facilities are better suited to the Pfizer health requirements. St Christopher’s in Haslemere will only be giving AstraZeneca jabs.
Partner update 19th February 2021 from Surrey Heartlands CCG
Welcome to our regular Covid-19 vaccination update. This short update will be published and circulated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, in addition to our weekly vaccination newsletter. If you wish to subscribe/unsubscribe please email us at: syheartlandsccg.comms@nhs.net
Latest video – The Covid-19 vaccination programme explained
Watch our latest video with Dr Sally Johnson here where she explains how our local vaccination programme is working and answers some common questions. Reminder – please help to remind people they should only attend with a booked appointment Unfortunately a message was circulated in error earlier today about surplus vaccine at the Epsom Racecourse vaccination centre being available today and over the weekend. This is not the case and we are urging people to please not attend the site unless they have a booked appointment. If you can help by retweeting our message we would be very grateful.
Vaccination centre opening
hours
Our local
vaccination programme works flexibly to allow for changes in vaccine supply,
booking numbers and other factors to ensure we make best use of our
resources. This means that our sites don’t necessarily operate every day
(although they are open most days). Frontline teams plan patient appointments
accordingly to ensure the most efficient service; as a reminder, we aren’t
able to offer vaccinations to anyone without an appointment. Across Surrey
Heartlands we continue to make really good progress to deliver vaccinations
to all the priority cohorts within the timescales expected.
Latest FAQs
You can find a comprehensive set of FAQs
on the local programme on our website here.
When will I be contacted
about making an appointment to receive my second dose?
Patients will be contacted just prior to
11 weeks after they received their first dose. The organisation that
vaccinated you in the first place is responsible for ensuring you are
re-contacted to receive your second dose. If you booked your
appointment via the National Booking Service (for example at Epsom Racecourse
or a community pharmacy) you should already have your second appointment.
A mobile Coronavirus testing facility is being established
in Weydown Road Car Park, Haslemere, from Friday
12 February to Sunday 14 February.
Testing
is available to all those with COVID-19 symptoms, but must be pre-booked
online. Booking for this site is open from 5pm the evening
before and on the day.
Residents
should book on the national testing portal: visiting www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or call the NHS on 119.
Those
without an appointment will be turned away.
You can
walk into the testing centre, but will still need a pre-booked
appointment.
I received this update yesterday from Surrey Heartlands:
Bad weather update Snow and flood warnings are in place for parts of Surrey this weekend (6/7 February). Our Covid-19 vaccination services are currently expected to run as normal but if this changes we’ll share any updates on our website here. In case of adverse weather, we would ask people to travel safely and if they can’t attend, please don’t worry, we’ll be in touch to reschedule. For those attending, we would like to remind you (just in case of any queuing although this will be kept to a minimum) to:
Dress warmly
Try to arrive on time but not early
If you are coming by car and are early, please stay in your car until close to your appointment time
Bring a warm drink in a flask
Latest data The latest published data here shows we have now delivered a total of 148,294 first dose vaccinations across Surrey Heartlands (up to 31 January). Our latest infographic below shows more detail; the graphic is also available on our website here.
In conversation with Dr Sally Johnson Dr Sally Johnson, GP and clinical lead for our vaccination programme, answers lots of common questions and myth busts in this latest video which you can watch here. (Subtitles can be activated by clicking on the CC button along the bottom row of the video).
Latest FAQs
You can find a comprehensive set of FAQs on the local programme on our website here. In the meantime, we will regularly publish the answers to some of the most common/latest questions here.
How are you choosing who to vaccinate when?
We are currently offering the COVID-19 vaccine to people in JCVI priority groups 1 to 4. We are hoping to complete these priority groups by the middle of February. These include:
all those 80 years of age and over
we are proactively contacting anyone who has not yet been vaccinated by telephoning and writing to them. We are reviewing all GP lists to ensure we have not missed anyone
frontline health and social care workers
all those 75 years of age and over
all those 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals.
People with the following conditions are automatically deemed clinically extremely vulnerable:
solid organ transplant recipients
people with specific cancers
people with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy
people with lung cancer who are undergoing radical radiotherapy
people with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment
people having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer
people having other targeted cancer treatments that can affect the immune system, such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors
people who have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs
people with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
people with rare diseases that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), homozygous sickle cell disease)
people on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection
problems with your spleen, for example splenectomy (having your spleen removed)
adults with Down’s Syndrome
adults on dialysis or with chronic kidney disease (stage 5)
women who are pregnant with significant heart disease, congenital or acquired
other people who have also been classed as clinically extremely vulnerable, based on clinical judgement and an assessment of their needs. GPs and hospital clinicians have been provided with guidance to support these decisions
If someone considers themselves to be clinically extremely vulnerable but their clinical condition is not included in the list above, they are advised to contact their GP or specialist to discuss.
NHS confirms Covid jab now offered at every eligible care home in England
Earlier this week NHS England announced that the Covid-19 vaccination has been offered in over 10,000 care homes with older residents. More information here. In Surrey/Surrey Heartlands we have now visited all care homes with the exception of three (due to local outbreaks), all of whom will be visited by 6th February.
Published vaccination data
NHS England publishes vaccination data for England here which you might like to bookmark as a favourite. The weekly data is broken down by health and care system and age band, currently defined as 80+ and under 80 years old, and the count of vaccinations by dose and ethnicity. The daily data gives a total figure for England and is broken down by region – i.e. for us that would be across the South East.
Latest FAQs
You can find a comprehensive set of FAQs on the local programme on our website here. In the meantime, we will regularly publish the answers to some of the most common/latest questions here.
Why has the second dose interval been extended to 12 weeks?
• Throughout this global pandemic we have always been guided by the latest scientific advice. Having studied evidence on both the Pfizer/ BioNTech and Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccines the JCVI (Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisations) has advised that we should prioritise giving as many people in at-risk groups their first dose, rather than providing two doses in as short a time as possible.
• Evidence shows that one dose of either vaccine provides a high level of protection from Covid-19. This is because even with just one dose the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been estimated to offer 89% effectiveness from two weeks after it is given, and the Oxford/AstraZeneca 74% effectiveness from two weeks after it is given.
• For both vaccines, data provided to MHRA demonstrate that whilst efficacy is optimised when a second dose is administered both offer considerable protection after a single dose, at least in the short term. For both vaccines the second dose completes the course and is likely to be important for longer term protection
• The NHS across the UK will prioritise giving the first dose of the vaccine to those in the most high-risk groups. Everyone will still receive their second dose and this will be within 12 weeks of their first. The second dose completes the course and is important for longer term protection.
As the Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Jonathan Van Tam, has said: “The evidence clearly shows vaccinated individuals get almost complete protection after the first dose. Simply put, every time we vaccinate someone a second time, we are not vaccinating someone else for the first time. It means we are missing an opportunity to greatly reduce the chances of the most vulnerable people getting severely ill from Covid-19. If a family has two elderly grandparents and there are two vaccines available, it is better to give both 89 per cent than to give one 95 per cent protection with two quick doses, and the other grandparent no protection at all.”
As a local health and care system, we are following the advice from the Government’s Chief Medical Officers.
Covid vaccinations are being carried out across Surrey and some of you will have already been called for your first vaccination. For those waiting, please be aware that there is a scam whereby people are receiving texts that appear to be from the NHS and ask for personal and bank details to pay for the vaccination. These are scams.
The Covid vaccination is free and you will be contacted via a text (usually from your GP practice), a letter from the NHS, or possibly a phone call from your GP if short notice. All these methods will allow you to choose a venue and a time. You are not applying for the vaccination – you are being invited to attend one of the vaccination centres. At no time will you be asked for any other personal or financial details (but you may need to provide date of birth as a security measure). The link below downloads a poster from the government giving details of what a scam invitation will look like.
Keep safe and well Martin Stilwell Surrey Neighbourhood Watch
