People urged to attend Covid jab appointments as 20 per cent of weekend slots in Hampshire missed

While demand has been high for appointments for children aged between five and 11, some sites have seen around 20 per cent – the equivalent of 110 slots a day – of weekend spaces missed.

This means others waiting to get vaccinated are delayed, so the Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight CCG is asking anyone who cannot attend to either rebook in advance through the national booking system or contact 119.

It comes as more than 14,000 children within that age group in Hampshire and Isle of Wight have received their first dose of the vaccine, which were offered from April.

Angela Anderson, deputy chief nurse and clinical director for the vaccination service, said: ‘The decision to get your child vaccinated, as a parent or guardian, is yours. Not only can the vaccine help protect your child against serious Covid infection, it can also reduce the risk of passing on the infection to others.

‘So, if you or your child haven’t yet received the vaccine, why not book an appointment or come and speak to the teams at one of our centres as soon as you are able - they will be there to welcome you and answer any questions you may have.’

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Children aged 5 to 11 who have had Covid-19 recently should leave 12 weeks between when they were positive to when they book their vaccination.

If parents or guardians have questions about getting their child vaccinated or want to book appointments, they can contact the helpline on 0300 561 0018.

As of May 18, 163,572 people in Portsmouth – or 80 per cent of eligible people had at least one jab, 154,119 or 75.4 per cent had two and 119,438 or 58.4 per cent had three.

In Gosport, 88.2 of people have had one, 84.1 per cent have had two and 70.1 have had three.

While in Fareham, 91.2 per cent had one, 88.4 per cent had two and 76.4 per cent had three.

And in Havant, 88.5 per cent of people had one, 84.9 per cent had two and 71.4 per cent had three.