Covid vaccination centre opens at Borehamwood pharmacy

Online pharmacy Med Mart, which is based in Imperial Place in Maxwell Road, is among three new pharmacy NHS vaccination centres which have opened in south west Hertfordshire.

Like with the GP-led vaccination centre at Allum Manor and the mass NHS vaccination centre in Stevenage, appointments at Med Mart can only be booked through the NHS national Covid-19 vaccination booking system.

Patients who are eligible to book will receive an invitation letter from the NHS which gives a website and phone number for the national system. This allows patients to book an appointment at a growing range of places.

The pharmacy sites on the national booking system are larger sites that have the capability of vaccinating a minimum of 1,000 patients a week, once sites are fully up and running and subject to vaccine supplies.

Arrangements are being put in place to support patients in accessing the pharmacy sites. The local NHS is liaising with local councils on parking arrangements and Communities First is offering volunteer marshals.

A patient receives a Covid vaccine at Robertson House in Stevenage. Credit: PA

Hertfordshire's director of public health Jim McManus revealed this morning the number of people in Hertfordshire who have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine is now higher than the number of people in the county who have officially tested positive for Covid since the pandemic began.

As of this morning (January 22), 70 per cent of Hertfordshire residents aged 80 or over have had their first dose of vaccine (43,047 people), while 23 per cent of Hertfordshire residents aged 75-79 have now had their first dose (9,243).

Meanwhile, 59 per cent of NHS and social care staff have now had their first dose.

A total of 4,740,578 Covid-19 vaccinations had taken place in England between December 8 and January 20, according to provisional NHS England data, including first and second doses

Of this number, 4,303,730 were the first dose of the vaccine, while 436,848 were the second dose.

In the eastern region of around six million people, which includes Hertfordshire, as of January 20, there have been 494,557 first doses and 53,396 second doses, making 547,953 in total.

Credit: PA

From this week, letters inviting patients to book appointments through the national booking system are being extended to patients aged 70 and over, and those who have health conditions that make them clinically extremely vulnerable.

GP practices are continuing to work through their lists of eligible patients to offer them an appointment at their local GP-led centres. These centres are scheduling clinics in line with vaccine deliveries.

As well as running clinics for patients, these sites are also a base for taking vaccinations to care home residents and staff.