Nottinghamshire: Three walk-in Covid vaccination centres close

The government had announced a push to give boosters to as many people as possible before the end of 2021

Three walk-in Covid vaccination centres that opened in December as part of a drive to jab more people in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire have closed.

The sites in Nottingham, Gedling and Newark opened to tackle the rising number of Omicron cases in England.

A councillor said he was concerned the Gedling closure might be a mistake with Covid "still rampant" in the community.

The local clinical commissioning group (CCG) said the pop-up sites shut after a "successful vaccination push".

Sites at the Richard Herrod leisure centre, in Gedling, the Victoria Health Centre in Glasshouse Street, Nottingham, and the Newark Showground were open seven days a week from 20 December to deliver vaccinations including booster jabs.

The CCG said latest data showed more than 84% of eligible adults in the city and county have now had two vaccines, while nearly 63% have had a booster.

The Richard Herrod leisure centre was one of three sites to open in December

The leader of Gedling Borough Council, John Clarke, has expressed concern over the closure of the vaccination site in the leisure centre.

"I am not a health professional, but Covid is still rampant in the community," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"You can't keep using a public building - opening it one minute and then closing it the next. It is like the Chuckle Brothers - a 'to me to you' job. Richard Herrod centre is ideally suited for vaccines."

Amanda Sullivan, accountable officer at NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG, thanked staff and volunteers at the sites who "worked incredibly hard" in getting people boosted.

"Moving forward, we need to redeploy the staff working at the pop-up sites to utilise all our resources into getting as many people vaccinated as possible," she said.

Ms Sullivan added people could still get vaccinated at various walk-in sites across the city and county, which had "plenty of availability".