Shrewsbury care home residents among the first to receive their Covid-19 booster jabs

Residents in a Shrewsbury care home were among the very first patients to receive their Covid-19 booster vaccines in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

Isle Court Nursing Home in Bicton, Shrewsbury was the first home in the area to have had its residents vaccinated with their booster doses.

A number of residents were also given their flu vaccines at the same time as their booster jabs.

The first patient to receive their vaccine at the care home was Joan Edwards, aged 88.

She said: “I feel privileged to be the first patient in the local area to have had their booster vaccination. I feel reassured that I’ll be protected in the colder, winter months.

“It was also an added bonus to have my flu jab at the same time. Thank you to Dr Hart for giving me my vaccines today.”

The booster vaccine dose helps improve the protection you have from your first two doses of the vaccine. It helps give you longer-term protection against getting seriously ill from Covid-19.

Dr Charlotte Hart, GP and Clinical Director at Shrewsbury Primary Care Network, was the clinician who gave the first jab at the care home.

She said: “I feel delighted that we’ve been able to vaccinate the first set of care home residents in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin with their Covid-19 boosters, and in turn ensuring that we are offering additional protection to this incredibly vulnerable group of people.

“In the past 18 months, our care home residents have had to manage without getting to see the people they love the most, so offering their booster vaccines will help us to ensure contact with their family members continues, and they are kept safe and well.”

Covid-19 booster vaccinations have started to be delivered in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin to people in eligible groups via appointment only as of this week.

In line with new guidance set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the NHS Vaccination Programme has started to invite eligible people, who had their second jab at least six months ago, for their booster dose.

The National Booking Service (NBS) (www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination and 119) went live earlier this week, allowing eligible people to book their Covid-19 booster vaccine appointments in vaccine sites that are on the NBS.

People will only be able to book once they are invited. For people that aren’t invited to book on NBS straight away, or where they haven’t been contacted and booked through another service, they will be contacted and able to book in the near future. People do not need to contact the NHS to arrange their booster vaccine, as the NHS will be in touch when they become eligible for the jab.

Local GP practices will be in touch with people in the coming days, so those who would prefer to be vaccinated at their local GP practice should wait to be contacted by them.

Steve Ellis, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Vaccination Programme Lead, said: “It’s absolutely crucial that we do everything we can to prolong the protection the vaccines offer, particularly for those most vulnerable to Covid-19 as we approach the autumn and winter months.

“We are working closely with our Primary Care Network and hospital colleagues to offer this vital service for our local community.

“I urge everyone who is eligible to get their Covid-19 booster dose to get theirs as soon as they are offered it, so you have the strongest possible protection over the winter months.

“Booster vaccinations will be via appointment only, so there is no need for you to contact the NHS or your local GP practice about this. The NHS will be in touch with you when it is your turn to get your booster vaccine – at least six months on from your last dose.

“For those who would rather be vaccinated by their local GP, you don’t need to do anything as your practice will make contact with you, when it is your turn.”

Our hospitals and GP-led local vaccination services will be vaccinating frontline health and care workers as well as identifying other eligible patients for their booster vaccine. More vaccination centres and community pharmacy-led sites will come online in the following weeks, giving people further protection from the virus ahead of winter.

Those that will be eligible include: 

• Those living in residential care homes for older adults
• All adults aged 50 years or over
• Frontline health and social care workers
• All those aged 16 to 49 years with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe Covid-19
• Adult carers and those experiencing homelessness
• Adult household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals

The Pfizer vaccination will be the primary vaccine used as the booster, irrespective of whether the individual was previously vaccinated with Pfizer or AstraZeneca.

For further information please visit: COVID-19 Booster Programme (stwics.org.uk)