COVID-19

Buckinghamshire COVID-19 Vaccination Programme

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine

Your GP will either call you or send a letter inviting you to your vaccination appointment.

Please do not call the GP or go to the vaccination site without an invitation.

Vaccination plan

The Government has announced that the top four priority groups in the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) list will be completed by mid-February.

These are:

Residents in a care home for older adults and their carers
All those 80 years of age and over and frontline health and social care workers
All those 75 years of age and over
All those 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals

This is around 120,000 people in Buckinghamshire.

Vaccination sites in Buckinghamshire

There are a number of different ways you could be vaccinated:

Local Vaccination Sites (run by Buckinghamshire GPs). GPs are also delivering the vaccine directly to care homes for their residents and staff.
Pharmacy Sites
National mass vaccination sites
Hospital sites for health and social care staff

All vaccination sites have parking on site or nearby. The public car parks will have a charge.

Local vaccination sites

In Buckinghamshire, all GP Led sites will be operating by 25 January and all residents over the age of 80 will be offered a vaccination appointment locally through their GP Practice by the end of January.

All GPs are involved in the rollout of the vaccination programme, through eight GP led sites across the county:

Berryfields Medical Centre
Edlesborough Surgery
Haddenham Medical Centre
Mandeville Surgery
Meadowcroft Surgery
Oakfield Surgery
Poplar Grove Practice
Westongrove PCN
Whitehill Surgery

Covid-19 NHS App

The new NHS COVID-19 app is now live and is available for people in England and Wales to download and use on their smartphones.

This is the ‘official’ NHS app to support the Test and Trace system

The app doesn’t use personal data other than the first part of a user’s postcode - it works anonymously via Bluetooth

Why it’s so important

This technology will allow the NHS to find out much more quickly if the virus is spreading in a certain area

It will significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to alert people if they’ve been in contact with a case

The app helps trace other users who’ve spent time near each other, even if they don’t know each other personally

Users will be able to check the app each day to see if their postcode area has become higher risk – meaning people can more easily make personal choices about their movements

If enough people use it, it will significantly help the NHS trace the spread of the virus, ultimately helping both the user and the wider population

Privacy

The app does not store personal data, other than the first part of a user’s postcode

If a user tests positive for coronavirus, they can choose whether to enter this information into the app – it isn’t compulsory

The positive user’s ID and privacy is protected at all times

The app cannot access any other data on the user’s phone such as contacts or photos

The app cannot be used: to identify you, to track you, to check if you are self-isolating or by law enforcement

The app tracks the virus, not the user

For detailed information about the new COVID-19 NHS App go to www.COVID-19.nhs.uk

Talk about your Worries

If you are worried about how coronavirus is impacting on you, your family and friends, your ﬁnances or your future please talk to someone about your feelings.

If you can’t talk to a friend or family member, there is a lot of support available online or by phone and text.

One of the best places to ﬁnd is through the Healthy Minds website

https://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/healthyminds/covid/

The North Bucks Patient Support Service

is an NHS funded link between older and vulnerable patients of all the GP Surgeries in north Buckinghamshire.

www.northbuckspatientsupport.info/coronavirus and www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/coronavirus

www.nspcc.org.uk (part of Childline)

Reminder of their ‘Calm Zone’ area on their website which has activities from breathing exercises, activities, games and videos to help let go of stress.

www.childline.org.uk (free, private and confidential help for children and young people)

There is also a very useful Covid 19 support and advice page for both parents and carers. An abundance of support is available, from advice on how we help our children deal with anxieties and worries about the virus, to worries about conflict and family tension and much more.