Melksham’s Covid vaccine roll-out to hit 15,000 milestone

OVER 15,000 Melksham patients will have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of this week.

And from next week, the Melksham & Bradford on Avon Primary Care Network (PCN) will “go live” with its second dose vaccination clinics.

The PCN reports, “Melksham & Bradford on Avon PCN is delighted to report that by the Friday 5th March, we will have vaccinated over 15,000 patients since starting to deliver clinics in December 2020.  

“All patients across cohorts 1-5 have received a Covid-19 vaccination invitation.

“We are now calling patients who fall into group 6, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) defines this cohort as ‘all individuals aged 16 years to 64 years with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality’.

“The Melksham & Bradford on Avon PCN second-dose vaccination clinics will ‘go live’ from 12th March and patients will be offered a second dose of Covid-19 vaccine ’77-84 days post first-dose clinics’. 

“These second dose clinics will be delivered alongside further first dose sessions and we remain very grateful for the fantastic ongoing support of practice staff and volunteers to deliver this programme.

“When your priority group is being contacted regarding their Covid-19 vaccination,  if you have already booked an appointment with us please attend that appointment and do not book another slot at an alternative centre, as this will result in non-attendance and wasted NHS resources. If you haven’t yet been contacted by us, we would like to reassure you that we will contact each eligible patient to offer a Covid-19 vaccination. (We will never ask for your bank details).”

The local PCN is known as Melksham & Bradford on Avon Primary Care Network, and consists of the three GP practices Bradford on Avon & Melksham Health Partnership, Giffords Surgery and Spa Medical Practice – together they cover a population of c.48,000 residents. The vaccination programme is being delivered at Spencer Sports and Social Club.