Covid: New vaccination centre to open in Dudley

Thousands more people came forward for their first or second Covid vaccines last week, the government said

A new Covid-19 vaccination centre is to open in Dudley in a bid to accelerate the booster programme in the West Midlands.

Sally Roberts, from Black Country and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group, said it had been a "monumental effort" to set up the site at Saltwells Education Centre.

People can get their first, second and booster doses from Wednesday.

The clinic will be open seven days a week from 07:30 until 18:00 GMT.

Appointments are available via the national booking system.

Thousands more people came forward for their first or second Covid vaccines last week, with a total of 221,564 first doses given in England between 15 and 21 December - 46% up on the previous week - while 279,112 second jabs were given.

"Following the latest government guidance, we've been working hard to ramp up the booster programme across the area and ensure everyone eligible is protected as soon as possible," Ms Roberts said.

"Our new site at Saltwells Education Centre will provide much-needed extra capacity for vaccinating people who live in Dudley and surrounding areas.

"It has been a monumental effort to get the clinic set up so quickly and I'd like to thank everyone involved including our local healthcare partners and Dudley Council."