Have you been vaccinated yet? Have you had all three doses? If not, there are opportunities in Ludlow and South Shropshire over this weekend to walk into a clinic and get your first jab, second jab or your third. Sessions are 8am to 11am at Ludlow Hospital today (Saturday) and 9am to 12pm tomorrow at Ludlow Mascall Centre.
People do not need to be registered with a GP, have proof of address, immigration status, ID or an NHS number. A few personal details will be taken to record who has been vaccinated.
More than one in ten people aged 12 or over in Shropshire have yet to receive any a vaccination, more than 32,000 people (11%). In Ludlow, nine per cent have not had any jabs.
Covid rates are at the highest level to date. Nearly 30 cases a day were diagnosed in Ludlow in the week up to New Year’s Day at testing centres. There will have been many other people who haven’t known they are positive. Others will have had positive lateral flow tests but did not obtain a PCR test and therefore are not recorded.
There is no need to book to receive a jab today at Ludlow Hospital between 8am and 11am. Use the Gravel Hill car park (back) entrance but please park in the bottom car park off New Road and walk around unless you are mobility problems.
This weekend’s second walk-in session in Ludlow is tomorrow at the Ludlow Mascall Centre on Lower Galdeford 9am to 12pm. The car park can get crowded and, unless you have mobility issues, you are advised to use the Smithfield car park which is free on Sundays or the Ludlow Youth Centre car park which is nearer. Also on Sunday, there will be a walk-in session at Halo Craven Arms Community Centre between 10am and 2pm.
Next Tuesday, and every Tuesday, a drop in session will be held at Station Drive Surgery between 5.30pm and 6.30pm.
Another regular drop in session will take place 10am to 4pm every Thursday during January at Church Stretton Fire Station on Sandford Road.
There are a few restrictions on eligibility. Full details are here. Other drop-in vaccination sessions are available in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin.
My blog on Thursday set out the current level of Covid cases in Shropshire and, for the first time, details of the Covid-19 variants prevalent in the area. We are in the era of Omicron. In the week to 2 January, 196 people in Ludlow town tested positive for Covid-19, twice the previous high of 96 cases.
Vaccination won’t necessarily stop someone getting Covid-19 but it will reduce the probability of them being severely ill and ending up in hospital. It will reduce the chances of them suffering long term effects, which are commonly known as Long Covid. That’s why it is important that all of us who can be, are vaccinated.