Covid vaccine site at St James' Hospital in Portsmouth to reduce its opening days

The centre at St James’ Hospital in Milton that first opened for Covid jabs in February 2021 will only operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays as of February 7 as fewer people are attending the site.

However, it will still offer walk-in appointments for people eligible for their first, second, third and booster jabs between 8am and 8pm on those days.

Similarly, the Solent NHS-run hubs at Oakley Road in Southampton and the Riverside Centre on the Isle of Wight will be cutting down to four and three days a week respectively.

Angela Anderson, Solent’s clinical director of Covid-19 vaccinations, said: ‘Our mass vaccination centres have been a great success - delivering over 750,000 vaccines to our communities since we first opened the doors to the public over a year ago.‘Our focus is now to offer more people the opportunity to take up the vaccines through our roving clinics. These sessions are proving to be an effective way to reach out to areas where vaccination take-up is lower.

‘The Covid-19 vaccines are the best way to protect yourself and others from becoming seriously ill or have long-term effects from the virus. We continue to open up even more opportunities for people to get vaccinated - it is never too late to receive the vaccine.’

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Over the next fortnight a series of pop-up clinics will be held across the Portsmouth area, including at Fareham Fire Station from 12pm to 8pm on February 3, Landport Community Centre from 9am to 6pm on February 4 and at Buckland Community Centre from 9am to 1.30pm on February 6.

The Oakley Road centre in Southampton will continue to open from 8am to 8pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sunday.

As reported, in the first year of it opening the St James’ Hospital site administered a total of 216,849 Covid vaccines.Vaccinations are also available at walk-in clinics provided by GP practices, outreach clinics, hospital hubs and pharmacies. People are also able to book an appointment through the National Booking System atnhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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