COVID-19 Update
Vaccination roll out
First mass vaccination centre in East Anglia opens
The first mass vaccination centre offering Covid-19 jabs to residents of Suffolk and north Essex opened on Wednesday 26th January 2021, which is really good news.
The centre, at Gainsborough Sports Centre in Ipswich, is one of 30 new centres opening across the UK this week. It is the first mass vaccination centre in the east of England and has the capacity to vaccinate thousands of people each week.
The first to receive jabs at the centre will be those over 70 who have received an invitation as well as NHS and care staff.
A reminder: please do not contact the NHS regarding a Covid-19 vaccination, they will contact you.
The vaccine roll out continues
The roll out of vaccines is continuing to expand with more sites coming online in Essex. Health and care staff are pulling out all the stops to open as many centres as possible as supplies become available. We now have five hospital vaccination hubs, more than 40 GP-led services and one new large vaccination centre with more opening shortly.
Please be assured that I am in close contact with the NHS and local authorities about the rollout of the vaccination programme in Essex, and I am working to encourage more vaccination sites, including primary care sites, to become operational as quickly as possible to expand and accelerate our local programme.
I would like to emphasise the NHS request for people to be patient and wait to be contacted to arrange an appointment, rather than directly contacting their GP. People will be contacted in order of priority with the elderly and most vulnerable receiving their vaccination first. Please act on your invitation when you receive it.
For further information go to:
www.sneevaccine.org.uk and https://eput.nhs.uk/news-events/coronavirus/coronavirus-vaccine/
Fast Test Centres
There are now three new fast testing centres available to constituents in Witham who DO NOT have symptoms of Covid-19.
The three locations are:
- Colchester Leisure World, Cowdray Avenue, Colchester, CO1 1YH.
- Witham Town FC, Spa Road, Witham, CM8 1UN.
- West Maldon Community Centre, Sunbury Way, Maldon, CM9 6YH.
These new test centres are among the first of their kind in the region, offering new and fast Lateral Flow Tests to the wider population. The tests are ONLY for people for who DO NOT have symptoms and give results in around 30 minutes.
Residents in the Witham constituency should book a test online at www.essex.gov.uk/getting-tested-for-covid-19/if-you-dont-have-symptoms Tests are by appointment only.
Booking online is the quickest and most effective option for residents seeking a Lateral Flow Test.
Residents can also book by calling 0333 772 6144 to arrange an appointment. Lines are open from 8am to 8pm every day, including Saturday and Sunday.
They can also email [email protected] and a member of staff will contact them to arrange an appointment.