Bold goal of 500 vaccinations a day as new Burnley Covid centre opens

The former Next store in Charter Walk opened today to offer a convenient alternative to GP and hospital services, with people aged 65 and over, as well as those with underlying health conditions, being invited to get the jab first.

And Mrs Marilyn Zebrowski (67) from Haslingden was the first person to receive her Oxford AstraZeneca vaccination at the centre this lunchtime.

A relieved Mrs Zebrowski told the Express: "I'm really happy to have got my jab today. I received a letter from my GP to come down. Everyone was very nice and it was very quick and easy. I don't like injections but I didn't feel any pain and I'm just relieved to have got it. I've been told to come back for my second jab on May 17th."

Health chiefs stressed that it remained important that the public don’t try to book or go to these services before they receive their booking letter. The centre is vaccinating invited people within a 45 minute radius.

East Lancashire Health Trust's executive director of Integrated Care Partnerships and Resilience, lauded the new centre as "absolutely fantastic" but urged everyone to continue to respect lockdown regulations and health advice of 'hands, face, space'.

He said: "Our goal is to vaccinate 500 people per day here before we move onto the next priority group. It's really great to see this new centre in Burnley because I know the town has been particularly hard hit by the virus.

"I would urge everyone who has been invited to please come and get their vaccination. It is safe and efficient, and every jab could potentially save a life. Despite the great work being done here, I would also stress that it's really important people continue to adhere to the restrictions in place and observe the guidance of 'hands, face, space'."

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

Coun. 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, including how to get involved, visit: https://www.healthierlsc.co.uk/CovidVaccination

Kevin McGee, chief executive of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trustf, 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.”