Sports store to become fifth NHS Vaccination Centre in Chatham

Chatham is to become home to another NHS Vaccination Centre in Kent and Medway as the biggest vaccine programme in health service history continues to gather pace.

The centre will open its doors at the former DW Sports store, in Willmot Square in the Pentagon Centre on Thursday, 11 March.

Over 580,000 people in Kent and Medway have already received their first dose with the Chatham NHS Vaccination Centre joining 39 local Vaccination services, 10 community pharmacies and hospital hubs around the county.

People aged 55 and over are receiving letters and text messages inviting them to go online to the national booking service to arrange a jab at a time and location that is convenient for them. If they are not able to go online, they can call 119 free of charge.

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) Deputy Chief Executive Gordon Flack, said: “We are enormously proud of all the work that has gone into every centre we have opened and our Chatham centre is no exception. It is testament to our incredible staff and everyone who has helped to make it happen.

“With five centres open across Kent and Medway, people in the eligible cohorts will be able to find one that is close to them and we are looking forward to continuing to vaccinate as many vulnerable people as possible in the coming days, weeks and months ahead.’’

KCHFT Chief Pharmacist Ruth Brown, said: “The vaccines are both safe and effective, so if anybody who is eligible but has not yet been vaccinated, I’d urge them to go online or call 119 and get themselves booked in.”

Medway Council Leader Cllr Alan Jarrett, said: “We are pleased a vaccination centre will soon be opened in the heart of Medway. I would like to thank our partners in the NHS for their continued hard work in the fight against coronavirus.

“Medway’s new NHS Vaccination Centre has good local transport links. I would encourage anyone eligible for the COVID-19 Vaccination to take up the offer.”

“Although the vaccine offers a light at the end of the tunnel, we all need to continue to follow the latest government advice to help keep our loved ones safe.”

The NHS Vaccination Centre in Medway will serve a population of around 280,000. It can be found within a five-minute walk of public transport and has several nearby car parks.

Like Folkestone, Gravesend, Tonbridge and Thanet, Chatham will be open to people aged 55 and over. You can make an appointment by phoning 119 or visiting www.nhs.uk/covidvaccination. Anyone who is in a higher priority cohort can also book at any site.

The large-scale vaccination centres will be capable of delivering thousands of vaccinations each week, scaling their operations up and down according to vaccine supply. People who book will have a pre-vaccination assessment before they receive their vaccine. Appointments are staggered to allow for social distancing and people are urged not to turn up early to avoid queues. Anyone having the vaccine will need to wait for 15 minutes before driving.

If anyone has already been vaccinated 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 it. People such as care home residents, who are unable to travel to vaccination centres, hospitals or GP-led sites, are already being vaccinated at home. If people have already been given an appointment by their GP service, they should attend that. For other sites, visit www.kentandmedwayccg.nhs.uk/covid19vaccine