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Surrey public invited for Spring Covid-19 boosters
Spring into health: Over 1.2 million people in the South East eligible for COVID-19 vaccine as national booking system opens
Eligible people in Surrey are being encouraged to book their spring Covid-19 vaccinations as the NHS national booking system opens.
Residents can now schedule appointments from Tuesday, 1 April. Appointments will be available daily across Surrey, primarily at pharmacies and GP practices as the vaccination programme runs until 17 June.
Those eligible for this year’s spring COVID-19 vaccine include adults aged 75 years and over, residents in care homes for older adults, and people with weakened immune systems who are at greater risk of severe illness.
Find out more about COVID-19 vaccination eligibility
Joint Chief Medical Officer, Professor Andrew Rhodes, at Surrey Heartlands NHS, said:
The vaccine provides vital protection against different strains of the Covid virus, helping to reduce the risk of catching and spreading it, as well as the risk of serious illness or hospitalisation if infected.
Anyone eligible who has not received any previous doses should still get vaccinated during this year’s spring offer to help protect against serious illness.
The COVID-19 virus continues to circulate and can be highly dangerous, particularly for these groups. Nationally, hospitals saw an average of more than 1,000 beds each day over winter occupied by COVID patients.
The vaccine provides vital protection against different strains of the COVID virus, helping to reduce the risk of catching and spreading it, as well as the risk of serious illness or hospitalisation if infected.
Surveillance data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on last year’s spring COVID-19 vaccination program showed that those who received a vaccine were more than 40% less likely to be admitted to hospital with COVID-19 for up to two months after vaccination, compared to those who did not receive one.
Local NHS teams have been working to make it as easy as possible for people to get vaccinated close to home, as well as organising visits to older adult care homes and eligible housebound patients.
For those who receive all their care at home, a home visit should be arranged via their GP.
In addition to booked appointments, there are thousands of walk-in appointments available daily, with a full list of local locations on the NHS vaccine walk-in finder.
Anyone eligible who has not received any previous doses should still get vaccinated during this year’s spring offer to help protect against serious illness.
A summary of the health conditions, treatments, and medications that can cause a weakened immune system is available on the NHS.UK website, and a full definition of immunosuppression can be found in Chapter 14a (Table 3) of the Green Book.