The leaders of York’s vaccination programme have set a target of 10,000 jabs a day in the city – as part of the national mission to give everyone a booster shot.
They were responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement that everyone over 18 in England “will have the chance to get their booster before the new year”.
Mr Johnson moved his target forward by a month in a bid to head off the worst effects of the Omicron variant.
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The man leading the vaccination programme in York, Prof Mike Holmes of Nimbuscare, said they would be making an “extraordinary effort” to ensure everyone eligible aged 18 or over gets their booster shot by the end of this year.
Getting your booster
Prof Holmes said: “In York we’re planning to do at least 10,000 vaccinations per day.
“We’re increasing our capacity at our Askham Bar Vaccination Centre and extending its opening hours to 6am until 10pm, seven days a week.
“In addition to this, we will be opening up to four new satellite vaccination clinics in the City which will open from 8am until 8pm from this Wednesday delivering up to 1500 vaccinations at each one per day.“
Appointments are bookable only, via nhs.uk.
“To accelerate the booster programme and bring forward the national target – seven weeks condensed into three – we need to double the number we vaccinate at the moment,” Dr Holmes said.
“This is a huge challenge which requires our already pressured NHS workforce to work even harder.
“I’m calling on the people of York to dig deep and help us get this done.
“We’re looking for volunteers to support us, we need more clinicians to do the jabbing, and most of all, we need people to come forward for their booster dose if they are 18 or over and it is 12 weeks since their second dose.”
The Nimbuscare team has delivered
- 67,000 booster vaccinations at the York Vaccination Centre
- 627,000 booster doses in our region
- ensuring more than 85% of the most vulnerable people (cohorts 1 to 4) have already received their booster jab.
Dr Holmes said: “So, it’s down to the other cohorts to step up to the mark now and do their bit.
“As with the early calls for people to come and get their first vaccinations, we need to make sure all those people get this vital booster dose to give them the best protection before the New Year sets in.”