In just two months, the health service has vaccinated more than 12 million people, opened more than 1,500 vaccination services, visited 10,000 care homes and issued over six million invitations from the National Booking Service.
The last invites to those aged 70 and over or on the Shielded Patients List who are yet to be vaccinated have now either been delivered or are due to arrive, meaning vaccines have been offered to everyone in this group whose contact details the NHS has.
The NHS is determined that nobody should be left behind, so if you are aged 70 and over and haven’t had your first dose yet, please come forward now and make an appointment at nhs.uk/covidvaccination, or by phoning 119.
The NHS will also be following up directly with the remaining people in this group by phone and letter, particularly those the Shielded Patients List – if that is you and you haven’t been written to, you can contact your GP.
NHS staff are doing an incredible job to deliver the vaccination programme, at the same time as dealing with high levels of Covid-19 hospital patients, but we need the public to play their part too:
- please don’t contact the NHS to seek a vaccine unless you are over 70, we will contact you when it is the right time;
- when we do contact you, please attend your booked appointments at exactly the time you’re asked to, so that we can avoid queues in this cold weather;
- and whether you have had your vaccine or not, please continue to follow all the guidance in place to control the virus and save lives.
You can read the latest updates on the programme by reading the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw updates.
Frequently Asked Questions
To read some of the common questions and answers about the vaccine and ongoing programme, please visit our dedicated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) webpage.
If you have a specific query which is not included in the FAQs above, please use this contact form, thank you.
Vaccination Fraud Warning
Coronavirus vaccines are only available via the NHS and the vaccine is free of charge. At no point will you be asked to pay. Please remember:
- The NHS will never ask you for your bank account or card details.
- The NHS will never ask you for your PIN or banking password.
- The NHS will never arrive unannounced at your home to administer the vaccine.
- The NHS will never ask you to prove your identity by sending copies of personal documents such as your passport, driving licence, bills or pay slips.
If you receive a call you believe to be fraudulent, hang up. If you are suspicious about an email you have received, forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk. Suspicious text messages should be forwarded to the number 7726 which is free of charge. If you believe you are the victim of a fraud, please report this to Action Fraud as soon as possible by calling 0300 123 2040 or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk.
Local Vaccination Transport Services
Community Transport providers across South Yorkshire are offering a free return journey to a Covid-19 vaccination site to people in high priority groups, who cannot access public transport and have no alternative. For more information and booking details please visit our Covid-19 transport webpage.
Information about attending vaccination appointments
Both of the vaccines being given to patients (Oxford AstraZeneca and Pfizer) require two doses in order to provide their full protection – usually around 12 weeks apart. You must attend both appointments to make sure you have the most protection possible against COVID-19. When you attend for your vaccination:
- Please do not arrive more than 5-10 minutes before your appointment time. If you do, people may have to queue for longer in poor weather and social distancing becomes more difficult.
- Have your NHS Number or invitation letter with you as it will make it quicker to check you in for your appointment. Your NHS number appears on various NHS documents and letters you may have received related to your healthcare or medications. You can also look it up on the Find My NHS Number service online.
- Please wear practical clothing so it’s easy to access your upper arm. Wearing a short sleeve t-shirt as your bottom layer of clothing is recommended. But during the cold weather, please do wrap up warm to protect you from the weather before and after your vaccine.
- If you are nervous or don’t like needles, let the person giving you your vaccine know so they can support you.
- Remember to wear a face-covering while travelling to, from and during your appointment and maintain social distancing at all times. You should also wash or sanitise your hands before and afterwards.
Helpful Resources
Public Health England leaflets and videos
Below are some Covid-19 vaccination information leaflets published by Public Health England, more can be found on their webpage:
- COVID-19 vaccine information for older adults
- COVID-19 vaccine information for healthcare workers
- COVID-19 vaccine leaflet: what to expect
- Easy Read COVID-19 vaccination information
Public Health England also have a suite of COVID-19 explainer videos to answer some of the frequently asked questions about the types of vaccines, eligibility, safety, at-risk groups, rollout, intervals, common side effects, importance of two doses and who needs the vaccine. One of the videos is linked below and features Dr Mary Ramsay, head of Immunisation at Public Health England. You can see more of these by visiting our webpage here or their YouTube channel.
Support and resources for BAME Communities
A COVID-19 vaccination guide for older adults leaflet is available in a range of languages, including Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Farsi, Gujarati, Hindi, Nepali, Polish, Punjabi, Romanian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog and Turkish. Please click here to view them.
The British Islamic Medical Association website contains a ‘one stop shop’ on debunking myths surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine which you may find helpful. There are also links to webinars featuring expert speakers who discuss coronavirus and the vaccine.
The Big Leaf Foundation website has lots of written translations of NHS and World Health Organisation advice surrounding COVID-19 and the vaccine in several languages. They also have lots of information about the dangers of fake news stories and misinformation.
The Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisation (GMCVO) website has a comprehensive collection of resources for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities during the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, including links to information about the vaccine.
We are working with partners across Doncaster to ensure that BAME communities are informed and encouraged to have the COVID-19 vaccination. Healthwatch have a collection of videos you can watch featuring health professionals and patients from various community groups from across Doncaster.