Hundreds invited to new NHS vaccination centre in Burnley

Hundreds of people aged 65 and over and those who are clinically vulnerable are being invited to book a coronavirus vaccination at a new NHS larger scale vaccination centre in Burnley town centre.

People who are eligible and who haven’t already been vaccinated by their local GP-led vaccination services or hospital hub, will receive letters from the NHS Covid-19 Vaccination Booking Service, telling them how they can book their appointment.

The NHS has opened more vaccination services across Lancashire and South Cumbria, including large vaccination centres and pharmacies.

The former Next store in Charter Walk, Burnley, is one of two larger sites opening in Lancashire and South Cumbria this week to offer a convenient alternative to GP and hospital services, which can deliver thousands of vaccinations every week. A vaccination centre is due to open in Preston on Thursday.

It remains important that the public don’t try to book or go to these services before they receive their booking letter.

Jane Scattergood, Covid-19 Vaccination Director for Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System, said: 

“This is evidence of the further expansion of the Covid-19 vaccination programme and we are delighted that Burnley and Preston will be opening as large vaccination centres. A great deal of hard work goes into setting up these sites, particularly when they are not in health settings. It is about delivering the vaccination programme locally where people will be able to access services the most. We are asking the public to support the NHS by not contacting your GP about your vaccination, we will invite you when it is your time.

We continue to be extremely grateful to all our wider partners including Lancashire County Council, Cumbria County Council, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, Blackpool Council, our district councils, Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service, the military, police, local businesses and many more.”

Dr Mark Dziobon, Burnley GP and Medical Director, Pennine Lancashire CCGs, said:

“I am absolutely delighted that people in the area will be able to use the mass Covid vaccination site at the former Next store in Charter Walk, Burnley, which has now been announced as the latest vaccination location.  The Covid vaccination programme is scaling up to reach as many people as possible, particularly those who are most at risk from the ravages of Covid.  We anticipate that the ability to vaccinate larger numbers of people will be a significant development in our fight against the virus and a return to a more normal way of life over time.  Please do not contact your GP but wait until your receive a letter or a phone call inviting you to come forward.”

Kevin McGee, Chief Executive of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, which has supported establishment of the vaccination programme throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria including recruiting staff, said:

“East Lancashire as a whole has consistently been one of the worst hit areas in the pandemic. We have seen very high community transmission of Covid-19, very high hospital admissions for a very long time and more than 1,000 people have sadly died from the virus in our hospitals. I am pleased to see a vaccination centre opening at the heart of the community in Burnley. If you are called to be vaccinated please make your appointment and take up the offer as quickly as you’re able. It is absolutely instrumental in our fight against this virus. I am grateful for the co-operation of everyone and I would personally like to thank the whole team, including staff from East Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, for their enormous and outstanding contribution in getting it up and running.”

Councillor Lian Pate, Burnley Council's Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing, said:

"This is fantastic news. The only way to beat Covid-19 is for as many people as possible to be vaccinated as quickly as possible. Having a vaccination site in the heart of Burnley town centre will help make sure there is plenty of capacity to hit those Government vaccination targets."

If people have received a jab since the letter was sent out or would prefer to wait to be invited to attend a hospital or GP service, they can simply ignore the letter. Those like care home residents who are unable to travel to vaccine centres, hospitals or GP-led sites are already receiving the vaccine at home.

Please don’t delay having your vaccine, but if you can’t travel to a vaccination centre or you would rather wait for an appointment closer to home, you can choose to do that, and your local GP-led service will be in touch soon to offer an alternative.

If you receive a letter from the national NHS Covid-19 Vaccination Booking Service and you book an appointment, please make sure you attend it. The sooner you get your vaccination, when eligible, the earlier you will be protected from Covid-19.

As with other vaccination services people should wait to be invited by the NHS. It will not be possible to use the NHS Covid-19 Vaccination Booking Service if you have not received an invitation letter. It will also not be possible to get a vaccine at a vaccination centre or community pharmacy without an appointment. Doing so risks disrupting the work of NHS staff in protecting those at highest risk.

For more information about the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Lancashire and South Cumbria, including how to get involved, visit: https://hlsc.franktesting.co.uk/CovidVaccination