A VACCINATION site is opening in Wokingham town centre this week.
On Friday, the Wokingham Library will become host to a vaccination clinic for six weeks.
The centre is a result of months of campaigning from Wokingham Borough Council. It has been urging Berkshire West CCG to set up a jab site in Wokingham, instead of relying on residents travelling to the Broad Street Mall venue, in the centre of Reading.
Cllr Charles Margetts, executive member for health and wellbeing at the borough council said that he is very pleased to see the site confirmed.
“I encourage all residents to go and get their jabs,” he said. “This is the time to get vaccinated in Wokingham.”
The library will be open for first, second and booster doses of Pfizer on a walk-in basis.
The vaccine is suitable for pregnant women, 12- to 15-year-olds, people not registered with a GP or those without an NHS number, and people with no indefinite leave to remain status.
Visitors travelling by car can park at Denmark Street Car Park, and more parking options are available across the town.
It will operate on Fridays from 2pm to 7pm and on Saturdays and Sundays from 11am until 4.45pm.
“If the uptake is good, it may be extended beyond six weeks,” Cllr Margetts said. “We have campaigned for months for this. It could be the last centre in Wokingham.”
In order to secure any extension, the borough must demonstrate enough demand.
Cllr Margetts said that he is particularly keen for residents in Wokingham Without, Bulmershe, Loddon and Finchampstead South to make use of the facility.
These areas have some of the lowest vaccination uptake in the borough, he said.
In Wokingham Without, the vaccination rate is 10% lower than the national average, Cllr Margetts said.
“Everyone would like to see the back of the pandemic, but it is important that we don’t lose sight of what protects us from the virus,” Cllr Margetts added.
“While Omicron is milder in the sense that it has so far resulted in a lower hospitalisation and death rate than prior variants, it can still make you very sick and it is highly transmissible. The vaccine is what helps make this sickness less serious, reduce transmission and it is still strongly recommended.”
Any residents that tested positive in December and were unable to get their booster jab can now come forward, as long as it has been 28 days from when they tested positive.
Parents, carers and guardians are also encouraged to bring children and young people aged 12 and up over half term.
Anyone with questions about the vaccine can chat to the health professionals working at the site or email the council’s vaccine support team on: [email protected]
