‘Grab a jab’ this weekend at Oldham’s walk-in vaccination clinic

This weekend it will be easier than ever throughout Greater Manchester to get a coronavirus vaccination - with pop-up and walk-in sites throwing open their doors, meaning everyone aged 18 or over can simply ‘grab a jab’.

Walk-in sites will be taking place at the Dinwoodie Centre at the Royal Oldham Hospital, as well as in Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Salford, Tameside and Trafford (check out the full list of sites here).

Anyone will be able to walk in and get their jab at a convenient site while going about their usual weekend business - without the need to book a time in advance.

And for the first time the Greater Manchester NHS Vaccination Centre, located at the Etihad Campus in Manchester, will also be open to walk ins as well as those who have a pre booked appointment.

The Manchester site has so far delivered more than 250,000 doses of the vaccine and is able to vaccinate more than 2,000 people a day.

More than three million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have already been given across Greater Manchester.

The NHS will shortly launch a new online service, www.nhs.uk/grab-a-jab, enabling people to simply enter their postcode and find their nearest walk-in site, and text messages will be sent to people living nearby who haven’t had their first dose yet.

Second doses will also be available at some of the clinics, as long as it has been eight weeks since the first dose for people aged 40 and over and 12 weeks for people under 40.

The move comes as the NHS continues the final push to vaccinate everyone, following the watershed moment last Friday when every adult in the country became eligible for the jab.

Jane Pilkington, senior responsible office for the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Greater Manchester, said: “It is just as important to get vaccinated now as it was on day one of the programme, and it has never been easier to walk in and grab your jab while you are out and about this weekend. 

“We urge everyone who has not yet had their first dose to find the most convenient walk-in for them this weekend, because the more people who get the life-saving jab, the safer it is for everyone.”  

A little more than a week since the system opened to everyone, more than a third  of people aged 18-24 have been vaccinated in England.

And more than one million appointments were booked last Friday and Saturday in England following the move, an average of more than 21,000 every hour.

People who attend a walk-in clinic for their first dose will have their vaccination record updated online and will then be able to book in their second dose appointment using the national booking system.

Latest figures show the NHS in England has delivered more than 62 million vaccinations just six months after making history when Margaret Keenan received the approved vaccine in Coventry.

Four in five adults have now received their first dose of the jab, with three in five already fully vaccinated after receiving two doses.

All adults can book at one of the 1,600 vaccination centre, pharmacy or general practice sites across the country that are available through the national booking system.  

Vaccination centres are also available in convenient locations such as mosques, museums and football stadiums.

Text invitations appear as an alert from ‘NHSvaccine’ and include a web link to the NHS website to reserve an appointment.

People who cannot go online can call the service on 119 instead to book their jab.

People aged 39 and under who are eligible and pregnant women will be offered the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine in line with updated JCVI guidance.

After the weekend, other Oldham walk-in clinics will be available as follows:

- From June 30, 10am to 8pm every Wednesday at the Millennium Centre, Featherstall Road North, Oldham OL9 6QB

- From July 4, 10am to 8pm every Sunday at the European Islamic Centre, 79 Manchester Road, Oldham OL8 4LN

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