COVID-19 Vaccine Information

People are being personally invited to get their vaccine in priority groups. You will receive an invitation to come forward either by phone, text, through a letter from your GP practice or the national booking system.

Northumberland’s GP practices are working together in Primary Care Networks to vaccinate patients, so you might not be contacted by your usual practice, and you might need to go to a different location for the vaccination itself – you will be told where to attend when you are invited. When you have had your vaccination you will be told when you will need to go back for your second dose.

People should turn up at their appointment time, not earlier, and depending on the brand of vaccination you receive, you may need to wait at the practice for 15 minutes after being give the vaccine to ensure you do not have any adverse reaction.

We know lots of people will be eager to get protected but we are asking you not to contact your GP practice or the NHS to get an appointment as you will not be able to get one until you are invited. People most at risk from the complications of COVID-19 are being offered the vaccine first.

All areas of the county have started vaccinating, however the roll-out of the programme is limited by the amount of vaccines that are supplied to vaccination centres. Don’t be worried if you or a family member is over 80 and hasn’t heard anything so far. You might know others over 80 who have been invited for their vaccination already, but that doesn’t mean that you are a lower priority. If you’re eligible for the vaccine, but are yet to be contacted, please remain patient. You will not be missed.

GPs and other practice staff are working hard to vaccinate as many people in this group as quickly as possible, and during January many more people will be invited in as supply of the vaccine begins to ramp-up, but it is only the start of the vaccination programme and it will take some time to work through everyone.

Download the guidance explaining why you have to wait your turn.

The vaccines may not take place at your GP practice, but rather at a local vaccination centre (led by GPs practice nurses and community pharmacists). The vaccination is currently being rolled out from ten sites across Northumberland.  Please note that the vaccination centre you are asked to attend may not be the one closest to your home so make plans for how you will get to the centre when you are asked to attend, including plans for travel at different times of the day.

If you need help travelling to your allocated vaccination centre you will be asked this when making an appointment and your GP practice who will be able to provide you with details of how to arrange transport solutions.

The COVID-19 vaccine is given as an injection into your upper arm. It’s given as two doses. People will receive their second dose 12 weeks after the first. This means that many more people can now receive the first dose of the vaccine quicker.

To protect yourself and your family members from fraud and criminals, remember the following points:

• The vaccine is only available on the NHS for free to people in priority groups, and the NHS will contact you when it is your turn. Anyone offering a paid-for vaccine is committing a crime.
• The NHS will never ask you to press a button on your keypad or send a text to confirm you want the vaccine, and never ask for payment or for your bank details.
• At the moment we are also not making house calls to deliver or discuss the vaccine. Anyone offering this now is committing a crime.

If you receive a call you believe to be fraudulent, hang up. If you believe you have been the victim of fraud or identity theft you should report this directly to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040. Where the victim is vulnerable, and particularly if you are worried that someone has or might come to your house, report it to the Police online or by calling 101.