Vaccine centres to give protection against COVID-19 go live


The first two out of five vaccine centres run by the Suffolk GP Federation to give COVID-19 jabs opened today.

They are at Debenham Community Centre and Woodbridge Community Hall. Two more centres that will be run by the Federation – at The Mix, Stowmarket, and the EpiCentre, Haverhill – become operational tomorrow (15th Jan) and a fifth, Trinity Park, Ipswich, on Saturday (16th). All five have the potential to open 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.

The first patients being invited for vaccination at the five centres are those over the age of 80.

Patients will be contacted directly and should not contact their GP surgery. Comprehensive records are available of those who need to be vaccinated which means nobody will miss out.

If your GP surgery has your mobile phone number you will receive a text from “NHS-NoReply”. Please make sure your mobile is switched on. If you do not have a mobile, you will receive a letter.

The invitation, whether by text or by letter, will include a unique booking code and a web link. If you or a family member clicks on the link, it allows you to book an appointment directly online. Please book online if you can.

If you do not have internet access, there will be a booking line number. This is very busy, so please be patient.

To book, we will need you to confirm your name, date of birth, postcode and a mobile number (can be a family member or someone in your bubble) which we will use to confirm the appointment time and place. If you don’t have this, please just write down the appointment details.

Two doses of the vaccine will be needed and appointments for both will be booked at the same time. There will be a gap of 12 weeks between each jab.

If you receive an invitation and want to be vaccinated with a partner, friend or family member, you will need to wait until they also receive an invitation. You will then be able to book appointments at the same time.

In total, about 17,000 patients over the age of 80 will be invited to the five centres for a jab.

The five vaccine centres will be used by patients from a total of 28 practices:
Barham & Claydon; Burlington Road, Ipswich; Chesterfield Drive, Ipswich; Combs Ford; Deben Road, Ipswich; Debenham; Derby Road, Ipswich; Eye; Felixstowe Road, Ipswich; Framlingham, Framfield House, Woodbridge; Fressingfield; Glemsford; Hawthorn Drive, Ipswich; Haverhill Family; Holbrook & Shotley; Little St John’s, Woodbridge; Mendlesham; Needham Market; Norwich Road, Ipswich; Orchard Street, Ipswich; Dr Solway, Ipswich; Peninsula (Alderton & Aldeburgh); Ravenswood, Ipswich; Stowhealth, Stowmarket; Unity Healthcare (formerly Christmas Maltings), Haverhill; Wickham Market; and Wickhambrook.

* We have prepared a list of likely questions with our answers here.

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