Adults aged 25 and older across Hampshire and Portsmouth urged to book Covid vaccines tomorrow

Calls have been made for those aged between 25 and 29 across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to arrange their appointments as soon as possible.

People within that age bracket will be contacted via text message tomorrow (June 8) to book their slot.

Dr Nigel Watson, clinical lead for the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said: ‘Six months on from the launch of the biggest vaccination programme in the history of the NHS, we’re delighted that more than 1.87m Covid-19 vaccines have been delivered across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

‘We continue to make strong progress and remain on track to have offered every adult in our area a first dose of the vaccine by the end of July. Thank you to all of our colleagues, partners and volunteers whose outstanding continued efforts in delivering the vaccination programme locally are helping to save lives.

‘I strongly encourage anyone eligible who has not yet made an appointment to do so as soon as possible. Getting the vaccine helps protect yourself, your loved ones and our communities against Covid-19. The first dose of the vaccines offer good levels of protection, but to get maximum protection everyone will need a second dose.’

It comes as Portsmouth City Council’s head of public health, Helen Atkinson, told The News rising Covid cases were mainly being seen in younger age groups. And council leader Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson said fewer men under the age of 50 in Portsmouth were booking in for vaccines compared to other groups.

Ms Atkinson said: ‘The vaccination programme continues on schedule to fulfil the target of offering all adults the vaccine by the end of July. It's great news that another cohort is now being invited to receive their vaccination as the majority of Covid cases we're currently seeing in the city are in those who aren't yet vaccinated.

‘Whilst some younger people may feel that they don’t need the vaccination as they're unlikely to become extremely unwell or die from the virus, it's hard to predict how people will be affected and Long Covid has impacted on all age groups. This can also cause serious limitations in how you live your life.

‘The vaccination is the best protection we have against Covid-19 and I can’t stress enough how important it is to take up the offer when you're invited.’

SEE ALSO: Warning in Portsmouth as R rate starts to rise

Government data released on June 7 reported that 116,956 people in Portsmouth had their first Covid vaccine, and 80,771 had both.

Across the south east region 5.66m people had one dose and 3.97m had a second.

When invited, people will be able to book to receive the Covid-19 vaccine via nhs.uk/covid-vaccination or by calling 119.

Text invitations, which do not expire, appear as an alert from ‘NHSvaccine’ and include a web link to the NHS website to reserve an appointment.

People aged 39 and under who are eligible and pregnant women will be offered the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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