Covid-19 vaccinations: We’re almost there, let’s keep going
Thank you to the thousands of people in Kent and Medway who have had the COVID-19 vaccine and are helping to make sure life returns to normal as quickly as possible.
We are now well on our way to vaccinating everyone aged 18 or over.
If you still need a vaccine, there are many different ways you can grab a jab at booked and walk-in appointments across Kent and Medway.
You can now find 13 pharmacies and 10 GP-led vaccination clinics on the national booking service, with a further four GP sites due to be added soon. Anyone can use GP services listed on the national booking system; you don’t need to be registered with the practice.
The #GrabAJab campaign continues with walk-in clinics in locations across the county, including Ashford, Canterbury, Malling, Dartford, Hythe, Ramsgate and Swanley.
In a little more than six months, more than two million COVID-19 doses have been given in Kent and Medway, with 1,212,538 first doses (as at 1 July) and 909,492 second doses (as at 1 July).
Paula Wilkins, Chief Nurse, of NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “We are enormously grateful to the hundreds of volunteers who have supported this huge rollout and the dozens of community-based organisations that have shared insight into reaching some hard-to-reach groups of people, as well as the vaccination teams themselves. We have received incredible support from local councils and other partners across Kent and Medway – we couldn’t have got this far without you.’’
As businesses begin to open up, there will be some changes to two large vaccination centres in Kent and Medway, run by Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust:
- Angel Centre, Tonbridge – first doses at the site have finished; second doses will continue to be offered to people who had their first dose at the site until this is complete in late July/early August. Local pharmacies will vaccinate people in cohorts 10 to 12 who need a first dose.
- Woodville, Gravesend – vaccinations will continue at the site until late August. After that, anyone has had a first dose at Woodville will be able to have their vaccination at a GP or pharmacy-led service.
- Large centres at the Folca in Folkestone, and the Pentagon in Chatham, will be available as long as needed and will continue to be used all the time there is demand.
Clive Tracey, Operational Lead for Kent and Medway large vaccination centres, said: “We have been working hard with our partners to return the Angel Vaccination Centre back to a leisure centre and then it will be the Woodville back to a theatre, so people can return to activities they enjoy. Four local pharmacy groups will be offering vaccinations to give people greater flexibility in where they can get their first vaccine in west Kent, while we focus on second doses for local people.’’
You can find a full list of vaccination sites at: www.kentandmedwayccg.nhs.uk/covid19vaccine.