We are all excited to hear about the progress of the rolling out of the Covid vaccine and look forward to this improving the quality of life for all of us.
We know that you, like us, are struggling with the confines imposed upon us all due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Everyone is trying to make the best of the situation and, as a practice, we are committed to caring for you in the best possible way whilst keeping both you and our team safe.
To keep you as informed as possible, we will update these messages frequently as we become aware of more information from NHS England:
- There are now two vaccines available to protect patients – Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech.
- Another vaccine (Moderna) has been licenced and will be available later on in 2021.
- The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) have emphasised that it is best for patients to get their second dose 12 weeks after their first vaccine. There is a high level of protection afforded by the first dose
- By vaccinating a greater number of people with a single dose, more deaths and hospitalisations will be prevented.
- Please do not contact the surgery nor the hospital to seek a vaccine, we will contact you when the NHS has instructed us to – we have already contacted all 80+ year old patients and are now moving down to the next cohort – 75-79 year olds. You should have been contacted by the practice – if not please contact us urgently. If you declined a vaccination but have changed your mind – contact us. We cannot give patients a choice of the vaccination they receive.
- At the current time all of our vaccinations are being done at the Steam Museum in Swindon – we are a member of the Brunel Health Group (made up of 12 independent surgeries) who have organised the vaccinations being given there. We are working together to provide these clinics and all the doctors, nurses and admin staff at Steam Museums vaccination centre come from Westrop Medical Practice and our partners within the Brunel Health Group. Everybody is working exceptionally hard and putting in many additional hours to provide this service. We know that our patients are very grateful and that is much appreciated.
- Most of our vaccination invitations are being sent by text message which will allow patients to book appointments themselves at a time that suits them. For those patients we do not currently hold mobile numbers for, we will contact by telephone.
- The process of allocating vaccine to clinics across the country is complex – I’m sure you will have seen this on the news. Therefore we do not know very far in advance when our next batch will be allocated.
- You will also be aware that big hubs and vaccination centres are being set up
- We will not under any circumstances go outside the government guidance in terms of vaccinating patients in the order of priority that we are informed about.
- Patients who have had their first vaccination will be contacted again for their second vaccination. Please don’t contact us about this – we will contact you as soon as we have confirmation from the Government when to do this.
With the current rapid increase in Covid-19 cases it is even more important to:
- Wash your hands
- Wear a face mask as advised
- Keep 2 metres apart
- Open a window
