This Black Friday, you can bag a booster as well as a bargain, when you’re out Christmas shopping across the North West.

As thousands of bargain hunters hit the high street on Friday, 25 November, and throughout the weekend to grab the best deals, many will be able to grab a jab as well at one of the walk-in and pop up vaccination sites conveniently located in and around popular shopping areas.

The NHS and its partners in the North West have delivered more than 1.7 million seasonal boosters since the autumn campaign began, and in an effort to keep people safe from COVID-19 heading into the winter months, vaccination teams will be busy jabbing throughout what is expected to be one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.

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.

Vaccination teams will be out and about across the region, and able to offer the autumn booster to anyone who is eligible and wants to take up the offer. And, if you have yet to have a first, second or booster jab, you will be able to get up to date without even having to book an appointment at locations such as:

• Shopping centres including The Market Place in Bolton, The Mall in Burnley and The Cherry Tree shopping centre on the Wirral
• There are also mobile units, such as the Living Well bus which can be found at  Morrison’s in Maghull and Thornton-Cleveleys
• Vaccination clinics close to major high streets, such as the site at the Pier Head in Liverpool city centre, which is conveniently located near Liverpool ONE

Keeping up-to-date with your COVID-19 vaccinations is the best way to protect yourself, your friends and your loved ones from catching COVID-19 and potentially becoming very unwell.

Dr Linda Charles-Ozuzu, Regional Director of Commissioning and SRO for the COVID-19 vaccination programme in the North West, said: “As we head into the winter months, traditionally a time when we are indoors more, respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, spread more easily from person to person. So, making sure we have the best protection is really important to stay well, and keep you and others safe.

“The vaccine programme in the North West has been a great success so far and we need to continue to encourage eligible people to come forward. If for any reason you have not yet been able to get your autumn booster, I would strongly urge you to come forward as soon as possible and get protected. This dose is just as important as the first because immunity fades over time, which is why we have made it as easy as possible to get your jab this weekend, wherever you live in the North West.”

Find out more about walk-in vaccination clinics in your area: Find a walk-in coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination site – NHS (www.nhs.uk)