Covid-19 Vaccination – Your Health Partnership

The Covid-19 vaccination programme is now live

Following extensive trials, there are three safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the UK and are now available to priority groups.

Vaccinations are being delivered according to priority groups identified by the Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The vaccinations may not take place at your usual practice site, but rather a local vaccination service (led by GPs, practice nurses and community pharmacists) who are responsible for delivering the vaccine to people in your community.

Our Vaccination Site

Whiteheath Medical Centre

Badsey Road
Oldbury
B69 1EJ

Parking

Limited parking is available on-site and to the rear of the practice.

Additional free parking is available at the Birchley Sports and Social Club – access from Arley Close which is next to the entrance to Badsey Road.

Whiteheath Medical Centre is in a residential area and we would ask all visitors to park responsibly.

Facilities

Whiteheath Medical Centre is an accessible site:

Disabled parking bays
Access ramps to the entrance and exit
Ground floor consulting rooms
Accessible toilet facilities
Hearing loop within the waiting area

When can I have my vaccine?

‘Don’t call us, we’ll call you’

When it is the right time for you to receive your vaccination, you will receive an invitation to come forward. This may be via the phone, or through a letter either from your GP or the national booking system.

We know lots of people will be eager to get protected but we are asking people not to contact us to get an appointment as you will not be able to get one until you are contacted.

Invitations via text message

We have started to use text messages to invite patients who have a valid UK mobile telephone number in their patient record.

Messages will include a link that will take you to our booking website for you to book your appointment.

If you do not have access to the internet you can contact the booking team on the telephone number provided.

The picture shows an example of what a text message from our system will look like.

Remember! The NHS will never ask you to provide any form of payment information such as credit/debit card details.

Can I have my vaccine at home?

At this early stage in the vaccination programme, GP vaccination sites are unable to give the vaccine to people at home, however we will bring you more information as the situation changes.

What will happen at my appointment?

Please aim to arrive no more than 5 minutes before your appointment time – we would ask that you attend alone or with no more than 1 other person if you need them.

A member of our team will greet you at the entrance to check you in for your appointment. They will ask you a couple of screening questions to see if you have had any recent symptoms of Covid-19, take your temperature and provide you with a surgical face mask to wear.

You will be directed to an available consulting room where you will be met by the clinician who will give you your vaccination via an injection into your upper arm.

After you have received your vaccine you will be shown to a waiting area – you will be asked to wait for 15 minutes after you have had your jab to make sure you are safe and well before you leave.

Are there any side effects?

Side effects

As with all medicines there is a chance that you may experience side effects however most side effects are mild and should not last longer than a week:

A sore arm from where the needle went in
Feeling tired
A headache
Feeling achy

Allergic Reactions

Tell the clinician before you are vaccinated if you have ever experienced a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis).

If you do have a reaction to the vaccine it usually happens within minutes. Staff giving the vaccine are trained to deal with allergic reactions and treat them immediately.

How safe is the Covid-19 vaccine?

The vaccines available for use in the UK have met strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness set out by the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Any coronavirus vaccine that is approved must go through all the clinical trials and safety checks all other licensed medicines go through. The MHRA follows international standards of safety.

Other vaccines are being developed. They will only be available on the NHS once they have been thoroughly tested to make sure they are safe and effective.

So far, thousands of people have been given a COVID-19 vaccine and reports of serious side effects, such as allergic reactions, have been very rare. No long-term complications have been reported.

Read about the approved Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19 by MHRA on GOV.UK

GOV.UK: Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19 approved by MHRA

GOV.UK: Moderna vaccine for COVID-19 approved by MHRA

Where can I get more information?

For more information about the Covid-19 vaccination programme visit the NHS website