The Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin vaccination programme continues with its successful roll-out, with well over 710,000 doses (including second doses) administered in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

As of the 5th September, the percentage of adults (18+) that have received at least one dose is over 89%, whilst over 83% have received both doses. 

The vaccination team is very proud to have won the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust Annual Awards in the Community Support & Fundraising Award category.

The Award recognises the excellent work of the team who have worked tirelessly to ensure the local population in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin have been offered the vaccination.

On Thursday, 9th September, Angie Wallace, the Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Integrated Care System’s Senior Responsible Officer for the programme and members of the Covid-19 Vaccination team accepted the Glass Trophy Award on behalf of the programme team including staff from the NHS and Local Authorities, volunteers, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service and the military.

The Award was presented by Julia Clarke, Director of Public Participation at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and was celebrated with some photos!

Thank you to everyone involved in the vaccination programme and well done!

Currently in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, in line with national guidance, we will be offering the vaccine to everyone aged 12 and over.

For those 18 or over, two doses of the vaccine are recommended, appointments can be booked via the NHS booking site here , calling NHS 119 or by walking in to one of our pop-up or walk-in clinics across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, see here for a full list of Covid-19 Vaccination Walk-in Clinics.

All 16-and-17-year olds are being offered one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, under the new guidance issued by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). 16 and 17 year olds can pop along to Pfizer walk-in clinics for a full list see here. Parental consent is not required for those aged 16 and above.

Following the recent announcement on 13th September, all children and young people aged 12 to 15 in England will be offered a first dose of Pfizer vaccine. Parental consent will be required, and the NHS is preparing to deliver a school-based vaccination programme.

We are doing incredibly well in vaccinating young people in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, with over 79.5% of 18-24 year old’s already having had at least a first dose.

A big focus of our work continues to be the delivery and promotion of our pop-up clinics provided by the mobile COVID-19 Vaccination Service “Bob the Bus”. 

We have recently visited various locations across the county including the Princess Royal Hospital, the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, Shrewsbury Town Football Club, RAF Shawbury, Oswestry Balloon Carnival, Telford Balloon Fiesta, local nightclubs and colleges! Further trips are planned including the various campus locations of the Shrewsbury Colleges, Telford & Wrekin Colleges and other locations including Hadley Learning Community and Barnabas Community Church. 

The Mobile COVID-19 Vaccination Service “Bob the Bus” enables us to provide pop-up clinics in those communities that are harder to reach, and we continue to work with local communities and businesses where vaccine uptake is low.

Phase 3 – Covid-19 Booster Programme

During September, for Phase 3, the Lead Provider of the Covid-19 vaccination programme will move from Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust to Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust. Angie Wallace will continue to be Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Integrated Care System’s Senior Responsible Officer for the programme. 

We are currently planning for the delivery of the COVID-19 booster vaccination programme to people over the age of 50 and those who are at a high risk of COVID-19. This means care home residents, health and social care workers, people aged over 50, those aged 16 to 49 years with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe COVID-19, adult carers, and adult household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals will be prioritised.

All those that are eligible will be able to receive their COVID-19 booster vaccine at least 6 months after their second dose. Please do not contact the NHS, the NHS will invite you to come forward for a booster vaccine when it is your turn. 

In Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin we are in the process of confirming the location of our local vaccination sites with Primary Care Networks and Community Pharmacy colleagues. We anticipate three Hospital Hubs potentially at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, the Princess Royal Hospital and at Robert Jones Agnus Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital. 

Our Mobile Vaccination Unit, Bob the Bus will continue to travel to parts of the community (especially to areas of the county where vaccine uptake is low) and provide pop-up clinics to help improve access to the vaccine.

We remain committed to providing on-going and easy access to the Covid-19 vaccination for people from all parts of Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

Building work to develop the new Headley Court Veterans’ Orthopaedic Centre is now well underway and you can watch the progress so far on the time-lapse video below. 

Back in June, The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital held an official ground-breaking ceremony for the facility, which will be dedicated to treating service personnel and veteran patients in a bespoke, military environment.

The £6 million two-storey building will include various areas for patients such as examination and clinic rooms, a treatment and procedure room, an assessment room and a splinting and therapy room, as well as clinic space for virtual appointments.

In the main entrance of the building, there will be a café and dedicated Veterans’ Hub where Shropshire Council and various military charities will provide support. The upstairs of the centre will feature dedicated Research offices, clinical teaching and training space for staff, a multi-disciplinary team room, and an office for admin staff.