Wirral communities come together to tackle the spread of Covid this Christmas

The  Community Connectors, from local charity Involve Northwest, have been getting the word out on vaccinations in Birkenhead Market and the Pyramids Shopping Centre, while  vaccination sites such as The Oval in Bebington, have  been supported by military assistance to meet the demand for jabs.

In a bid to Keep Wirral Well, new vaccination  walk-in clinics have popped up alongside permanent NHS vaccination centres as part of the big, pre-Christmas vaccination push, this week.

Julie Webster, Wirral’s Director of Public Health, said:

“Boosters are now essential for fully vaccinated adults. But my message to people who have not had their jabs is that it’s not too late!

What’s been happening in Wirral?

• Wirral’s team of Community Connectors handed out 3000 ‘Keep Wirral Well’ packs including self-isolation guides, face masks and hand gel, in Birkenhead, engaging shoppers to talk to them about vaccinations and testing
• The military delivered hundreds of jabs at The Oval in Bebington, offering a walk-in clinic for pre-Christmas boosters, as well as some first and second jabs

All partner organisations involved hope this approach will massively improve outreach to people who might not have otherwise come forward for their booster or their first or second  COVID-19 jabs.

Dr Abhi Mantgani, who leads the vaccination effort at Birkenhead Medical Building, believes the leading success of the Birkenhead centre is down to a high social media presence and outreach programmes.

Dr Abhi Mantgani, said:

“The number one reason our site has seen such a high success I think is because we have been one of the sites providing the service consistently.

“With us being one of the first centres in the country to offer the booster, we hit the ground running. We created a vaccination team of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, paramedics and health care assistants and we’ve been very active with it.

“After starting the service, we have and do provide a seven-day service with boosters and vaccinations available through walk-in vaccinations, appointments through an online booking system and appointments through our own members of the centre, making it possible for people to come and have the vaccine without any barriers.”