Zahawi announces London 'summit' to asses vaccine rollout
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Every adult aged 18 and over can now book a Covid jab, but there are still sites that accept walk-ins for those eligible. Some centres are only for healthcare workers, while others will only admit those aged 40 and over, so make sure to check your eligibility before heading out to avoid disappointment. This NHS will open hundreds of walk-in vaccine centres this weekend in an effort to urge people to “grab a jab”.
The health service will also send mobile vaccination sites out on the road this weekend and plans to visit housebound people in an effort to increase uptake.
The UK’s vaccination rollout has saved more than 14,000 lives and prevented 44,500 hospital admissions in England alone, according to Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi.
Speaking at Downing Street, Mr Zahawi hailed the figures as “real progress” but warned “we know there is much more to do” as Delta variant cases continue to rise.
Praising the “Dunkirk spirit” showed by the millions who accepted their vaccine offer, Mr Zahawi promised to intensify efforts to encourage more people to come forward for their vaccines.
Giving an example, he said there has been more than two million people aged over 50 in England who have been given a first dose and not a second.
However, this figure has shrunk considerably in the last two weeks and is now down to 900,000.
Mr Zahawi said the programme “has saved thousands of lives” by getting people vaccinated before restrictions are further eased on July 19.
He said: “The one thing you know, we know, is that vaccines are making the real difference – vaccines are our way out of this pandemic.”
The vaccines minister said “this country is getting a little bit safer every day” and added that the vaccine “will protect you” regardless of your age or background.
Mr Zahawi also noted that in the two days since the jab booking system was opened to everyone 18 and over, there were “six appointments being booked every second”.
His comments came as data suggests that across all age and ethnic groups, coronavirus vaccine uptake has slowed down significantly over the last two months.
Addressing vaccine hesitancy, Mr Zahawi said a “concerted, community-led effort” has “truly paid off” and led to achieving “real positive results”.
He explained: “So if you look at the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), vaccine hesitancy has halved in the past few months among Black and Black British people since February.”
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Find a walk-in vaccine clinic near you
There will be vaccine clinics open across the country, advertised by the NHS on a local basis.
In south west London, you can find a list of walk-in venues through the NHS website here.
Here are the list of NHS walk-in vaccine centres in south east London, while in North London people can get vaccinated at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
More North London vaccine pop-up centres can be found here.
In Birmingham and Solihull, West Midlands, vaccine appointments, opening times and walk-in clinics can be found on the authority’s NHS page.
For Manchester, details of vaccine walk-in centres and opening hours can be found on the City’s Council website, while in Liverpool information is here.
Vaccine walk-in clinics for Herefordshire and Worcestershire are detailed on the area’s NHS website.
For the rest of the country, the NHS Grab-a-Jab website is now live, but says: “The ‘Find a coronavirus (COVID019) walk-in vaccination site’ service will be available soon.”
This is expected to go live before Saturday, at which point you can enter your postcode and find your nearest centre for this weekend.
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