COVID-19 booster: drop-in vaccination clinic available at Hemel Hempstead Hospital

Residents in Dacorum who are eligible for the COVID-19 booster jab can now visit a drop-in vaccination clinic at Hemel Hempstead Hospital.

Everyone who is eligible for their top-up jab can now book an appointment online or by ringing 119 for a booster dose if it has been at least six months (182 days) since they had their second dose of the vaccine.

It is vitally important that the following people top up their immunity levels before they start to naturally decline, leaving them vulnerable to COVID:

> anyone aged 50 or over

> anyone aged 16 or over with a health condition that puts them at high risk from COVID-19, and their adult carers or household members aged 12 and over

> frontline health or social care workers

> people over 16 years of age with a learning disability or severe mental illness and their carers.

Dr Rachel Joyce: Director of Clinical and Professional Services for Hertfordshire and west Essex said: "Following a national announcement by Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Sajid Javid, people who are eligible for their COVID booster jab no longer need to wait to be contacted by their GP or the national NHS team.

"Instead, after six months (182 days) have passed since their second vaccination, they can and should take up their booster vaccination as soon as possible.

"If your second vaccination was more than six months ago, you are increasingly at risk from COVID-19. Don’t take chances with your health – get vaccinated now.”

To make booster vaccinations even easier to access in Hertfordshire you can now also drop-in to vaccination clinics - including Hemel Hempstead Hospital - without having to book in advance.

The drop-in sessions will run until at least the end of October. Go online to find the opening times for a session near you.

As well as offering ‘booster’ vaccinations, GP practices are working with hospital consultants to identify, contact and then vaccinate immunosuppressed patients aged 12 years and over who urgently need a third ‘primary’ dose of the jab, together with their household contacts.

These high-risk individuals only need to wait for a minimum of eight weeks after getting their second dose of the vaccine, NOT six months.

To see a complete list of those advised to get a third ‘primary dose’, click here.