Outreach teams have taken the COVID19 autumn booster out to thousands of people across the North West as part of efforts to make getting the vaccine more convenient than ever.

Services including a home outreach team in Lancashire and South Cumbria and a unique ‘Living Well’ bus in Cheshire and Merseyside that offers the Covid vaccine alongside health checks, have vaccinated more than 8,000 of the most vulnerable people since the autumn programme launched in September.

Vaccination teams across the North West are continuing to rollout more innovative, community-based clinics to offer the autumn booster and earlier doses on the COVID-19 vaccine to people living in areas with lower vaccine uptake, including:

• Pop up clinics at the Port Arcades shopping centre in Ellesmere Port, Merseyside, throughout November and December, offering Christmas shoppers the chance to drop in and get their autumn booster
• Twice-weekly pop up clinics at a range of community locations in Stockport, Greater Manchester, including churches, community centres, social clubs and libraries up to 8 December
• The DBCL Stadium, home of the Widnes Vikings in Merseyside, will be opening its doors once again for people to drop in and get their autumn booster between 4pm and 6pm this Saturday, 19 November.

Since the launch of the seasonal booster programme, more than 1.7 million autumn booster vaccines have been administered in the North West, in an effort to protect those most vulnerable in our communities from becoming seriously ill with COVID-19.

In Cheshire and Merseyside, the Living Well bus is the first service of its kind in England, and travels to the heart of communities to ensure that people can access the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as a range of other physical and mental health checks, ensuring that every contact counts.

Aligning with the national NHS health equality approach, Core20PLUS5, the bus primarily targets the most deprived 20% of the population, who data shows are less likely to take up the vaccination offer.

The Living Well bus is a drop-in service, so appointments aren’t necessary, and it provides first and second doses, as well as the top-up booster jabs. To date, the Living Well bus has delivered more than 7,000 COVID-19 vaccinations, and is now part of the ongoing offer to deliver the autumn booster.

You can find the Living Well bus in locations across Cheshire and Merseyside in the coming weeks including the Wirral, Knutsford, Halton, Sefton, Liverpool, St Helens, Knowsley, Warrington and Widnes

In Lancashire and South Cumbria the Vac@Home initiative has given almost 1,150 vaccines to people in their own homes. The scheme is available to people who find it difficult to go out, have mobility issues or who aren’t comfortable using existing vaccine services.

Local vaccination teams are also taking former COVID-19 testing vans, which have been converted into mobile vaccination clinics, out into local communities to make it easier for eligible people to get their autumn booster.

Over the coming weeks, you will find vaccination buses in Blackburn, Carnforth, Lancaster, Nelson, Poulton and Preston.

Dr Linda Charles-Ozuzu, Regional Director of Commissioning and SRO for the COVID-19 vaccination programme in the North West, said: “The lengths that our NHS colleagues and partners across the North West are going to, to make sure that the autumn booster is offered to all those who are eligible, is outstanding. These vaccination projects which are reaching into diverse communities are really making a difference.

“Vaccines remain our best defence against COVID-19, and ensuring that all of our communities, regardless of where they live or their background, have easy access to the vaccine, is really important.

“As we head into winter, ensuring that as many people as possible are protected from becoming seriously ill with COVID-19 is key. So if you’re eligible, don’t delay, and come forward for your jab as soon as possible.”

Anyone aged 50 and over, pregnant women, those with weakened immune systems, unpaid carers and frontline health and social care workers are eligible for the autumn booster, as long as it has been three months since their last dose of the vaccine.

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For further information please call North West media enquiries: 07736 484 533 or email england.nwmedia@nhs.net