PARENTS and guardians are being urged to book their five to 11-year olds in for Covid vaccinations during half-term.

Pharmacy2U is operating a vaccination site at Winchester Park and Ride South Car Park, M3 Junction 11, Hockley Link.

The Covid vaccine was extended to five to 11-year-olds following the recommendation from the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

All five to 11-year-olds will be offered the Pfizer vaccination, at a lower dose than the older children and adult dose. Children are recommended to receive two vaccinations, eight weeks apart.

Phil Day, pharmacist at Pharmacy2U, said: “Over the past few years, the Covid-19 vaccination roll-out has been a vitally important service for people across the country to ensure that the most vulnerable in our communities are protected.

"Whilst lockdowns have eased and life has mostly resumed, vaccinations play a key part in ensuring that this can continue and so the importance of getting vaccinated in line with NHS and government advice still remains.

"The NHS have been working above and beyond expectation for more than a year, and it’s important that they get the support they need. We’ve been working hard to make sure we can offer these sites and help our existing and new patients, whilst alleviating pressure on the NHS.”

Mark Livingstone, CEO of Pharmacy2U, said: “We are incredibly proud at Pharmacy2U to continue to play our part in protecting the most vulnerable people, and supporting the incredible effort the NHS has put into the vaccination programme. Our sites allow people to have easy access to the vaccination and we feel privileged to be able to play a part in easing some of the huge pressures that the NHS is currently under.

“Our vaccination centres and fully trained healthcare professionals will be supporting pharmacists to give patients these vital vaccinations, providing an essential service to help prevent the spread of this terrible virus. We’re working closely with the national and regional NHS teams to maintain our vaccination sites for patients in areas that need them most.” 

To book an appointment go to pharmacy2u.co.uk - however you will receive a letter or text message from the NHS when it is your turn to book, so it’s important to wait for that.

Pharmacy2U has been operating Covid vaccination sites across England since January 2021 and has so far administered over 1,300,000 vaccines.