RESIDENTS are being urged to get vaccinated or boosted this week in order to have a happy, safe and healthy Christmas and New Year.
There are plenty of options available in the city to grab your first, or second jab, or a booster.
Following the success of this weekend’s pop-up centre at Wavertree Athletics Centre, where over 1,000 people were vaccinated, the centre will be open again on Tuesday 21 December and Wednesday 22 December, from 9am until 5pm.
There is no need to book, simply turn up.
First, second and booster doses of Pfizer will be available to anyone aged 16 and over. Remember, the gap between having your second dose and a booster has now been reduced to three months
You will need to wear a face covering and wrap up warm, in case you have to queue. The pop-up centre has the capacity to deliver over 100 vaccinations an hour, but queues may close early if demand is high.
Do not come if you have any Covid-19 symptoms, however mild. Instead arrange a PCR test.
The city is ramping up its efforts to get as many residents boosted before the festive break starts, as the spread of the Omicron variant poses a serious threat. The most recent data shows that a third of Liverpool adults are yet to have two doses, and seven in 10 people are not yet ‘boosted.’
As well as getting jabbed, limiting your social interactions, good ventilation and hand hygiene, wearing a face covering and keeping your distance will all help protect you, your loved ones and your city.
All the ‘drop-in’ clinics available in the city can be found on Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group’s website – www.liverpoolccg.nhs.uk/drop-in-vaccination.
Cllr Frazer Lake, Cabinet Member for Adults and Children’s Social Care, said:
“The response at the weekend to our pop-up vaccination centre has been fantastic, with over 1,000 people getting vaccinated in time for Christmas. Thank you to everyone who heeded our call and turned up.
“But I am still very worried that too many people will fall ill with Covid at the same time – meaning Liverpool’s hospitals won’t cope. We need everyone in Liverpool to get behind this, and get boosted, to protect our city and our NHS.
If you haven’t come forward yet, please think carefully about the risk you are taking by not getting vaccinated.”
Director of Public Health for Liverpool, Matt Ashton said:
“The Covid-19 infection rate in Liverpool is high and increasing. This is likely to result in significant disruption across the city over the next couple of weeks.
“I would strongly encourage everybody to get vaccinated, and to get boosted, as soon as possible. We have a good offer for both bookable and drop-in vaccination in Liverpool, but with the programme being accelerated, and seven in 10 of those eligible not yet having had their booster, we are really pleased that we have managed to add extra capacity to the system quickly, with two more pop-up mass vaccination clinics this week.”
Dr Fiona Lemmens, local GP and Chair of NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group, said:
“As health professionals, we really want to urge people across our city not to delay being vaccinated in the run up to the Christmas break.
“The NHS has been working tirelessly to ensure that every adult is offered the chance to book a booster jab before the end of the year, in a race to protect the nation against the new Omicron variant.
“Over the coming days, opening hours for vaccine centres will continue to be extended and many more appointments will be made available at both existing and new local vaccination centres – but we now need the people of Liverpool to play their part too, and to get vaccinated as soon as possible to help prevent this next wave of the virus hitting our city badly.”