Patients are booked in order of priority based on age or clinical vulnerability - please see below for information.
We are now working through group 10, all the over 40s along with any outstanding patients from previous groups. Invites will be prioritised from oldest to youngest in this cohort in line with existing policy on invitation based on age.
This is a large age band and vaccination will be subject to supplies and delivery.
There are a defined number of slots in each clinic allocated to each practice in the neighbourhood and it will therefore take several clinics to get through each eligible cohort. Please be patient whilst you wait for your turn.
Booking will only take place when a scheduled delivery of covid vaccination has taken place and when a clinic has been set up to accept patients.
Invites take the form of a text invite, along with a link to an external website to book your appointment online. Those without mobile phone numbers or those who cannot book online will be contacted by phone directly.
Please check the frequently asked questions section if you have a query.
Please see our FAQs below for more information on this subject.
Do not contact us about your COVID-19 vaccination status.
Please check the frequently asked questions section for an update on this issue.
Please do not be tempted to just turn up at a clinic without an appointment, on the off-chance that there is vaccine left available. All vaccine is pre-allocated and all appointment slots taken up prior to any clinic starting.
You will be turned away.
We are receiving lots of queries from patients about the vaccine. Please wait to be contacted. When you become eligible and we have vaccine available you will receive an invitation to book an appointment either from your GP practice (by phone call, letter or text), or by letter from the NHS directly.
Any letter you receive will include all the information you will need to book appointments, including your NHS number.
Please do not contact us to get an appointment until you receive an invite or letter.
Please check the frequently asked questions section if you have a query.
Please be aware that practices do not control the vaccine supply chain, do not determine the priority grouping and did not determine the change in 2nd dose provision. We have no influence whatsoever on these centrally controlled issues.
Please do not contact us about any of the above issues as we do not have any responsibility for them.
Please check the frequently asked questions section for answers to your query before you call us, as your call could block urgent calls coming in.
Priority patients are based on the Government’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) who identify patients based on the prevention of serious illness from COVID-19. Prioritisation is primarily based on age, as the risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19 increases with age.
This priority list is as follows (along with approximate progress of vaccinating each of our groups at Ivy Grove†):
† Notes on the progress indicators above: these are provided by the surgery for information only and are to indicate approximate progress of 1st vaccinations only and not completed courses; we update these progress indicators whenever a major clinic has been run and where vaccination entries have been coded into records; there can sometimes be 48 hours delay before records are updated and accordingly there may not be daily updates; achievement will never be 100% in any cohort given that, for example, some patients will be unsuitable for a specific vaccine or may have postponed their vaccination; we invite patients based on roll-out for current cohort and this will always include any outstanding patients from previous cohorts; please wait to be contacted; data is correct as at May 10, 2021 after 16 weekend clinics (2 sessions in each clinic) and 41 weekday clinics.
More information on the vaccine is available by reading our FAQs or checking the links below.
You will be suitable for the vaccination if you meet ALL of the following criteria:
Please be prepared on the day of vaccination clinic:
Please note that we provide these FAQs in all good faith to answer patients' queries regarding covid vaccination, however, as you will all know, the situation with the vaccination programme is subject to rapid change and we can therefore accept no responsibility for issues arising out of use of these FAQs. If you need clarification of any points, please review official sources below
Please try not to worry. We have your details. Please wait to be contacted. CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT: please keep yourselves safe in the meantime.
Clinics are scheduled according to vaccine delivery and until delivery is confirmed, we cannot book patients into clinics. Therefore we are unable to book you on demand or when you request it. We will contact you when it is your turn to have the jab.
accuRx is a software provider that GP surgeries are using to send out invites to patients. Please review this information from accuRx .
We have not forgotten you. Each practice in the neighbourhood has a defined number of slots in each clinic available to them to book their patients into. There are many more patients than slots available in each clinic, therefore it will take several clinics to get through each eligible cohort.
Remember the covid vaccination programme is not like the flu vaccination programme, it is on a much larger scale, and will run for 8-9 months minimum, not just over a few weeks like the flu programme, so everyone eligible will eventually get their turn.
The single greatest risk factor for Covid-19 is increasing age, and this risk rises exponentially (more and more rapidly) with age. The optimal strategy for minimising future deaths is to offer vaccination to older age groups first.
Please check the priority list above for the eligible cohorts.
Please see above. We cannot shortcut the national process for the eligible cohorts to call any patient in earlier and you cannot buy the jab privately.
We do not determine the groupings - they are set nationally based on JCVI guidance; they are specified as above and your grouping is already set based on what is in your medical record. We do not change the groupings unless your medical record is incorrect. So, for instance, even if you have mutliple medical conditions, it does not mean you are bumped up a group. If you are not a clinically extremely vulnerable patient, but have chosen to shield yourself, it does not mean you are bumped up a group.
If your hospital consultant believes that you are in a high risk group (shielding) and should have the covid vaccination earlier, then by all means they will be able to code your record from their end. We get automatic notifications of those who have been added to the shielding list centrally by the NHS.
Although we definitely want to see as many people vaccinated as possible, and we all know the whole country wants to get back to normal as soon as possible, the covid vaccination programme is a marathon, not a sprint. The programme will run for 6-8 months minimum. Even if you have the jab now, it does not mean that you or your family can abandon all the ongoing measures to keep yourselves safe. You must still socially distance, adhere to strict hygiene and follow all rules on local and national restrictions.
Please be aware that everyone is working extremely hard behind the scenes to deliver this programme as quickly, effectively and efficiently as possible, so even if you do not hear straight away, you can be assured that strenous efforts are underway and you will get your turn.
The quickest way to get the jab is to patiently wait your turn and accept and attend any appointment for the jab that you will be offered - everyone who is eligible will get their jab eventually.
Contacting us repeatedly about covid vaccination risks delaying care to other patients and risks blocking our phone lines for urgent calls.
For queries regarding group 6 eligibilty and medical conditions, please see our specific information.
Please be assured that there are processes to ensure that all residents (and health care staff) in care homes and those patients who are housebound will be vaccinated in a separate process. You will not be left out. Please wait to be contacted.
Please note, if you are offered the vaccine, and are able to get to a clinic (for example, with help from a relative or friend), we do encourage you to attend the clinic if possible. If you cannot attend a clinic, you may have to wait for the above process to get round to you.
If you work for an NHS trust, or hospital, then your human resources or occupational health department will arrange for you to get the covid jab.
If you work in a care home, you should be able to get your covid jab when the residents in your workplace get theirs.
For all other health and social care workers, please wait to be contacted by your employing organisation in due course.
The latest guidance indicates that by mid-January, all NHS Trusts should have been established as 'hospital hubs' and the default provider of covid vaccinations for all healthcare and social care workers.
The definition of a carer for the purposes of eligiblity for group 6 vaccination is an adult person who provides regular and ongoing care for an elderly or disabled person, and the wellbeing of the person being cared for would be put at risk should the carer become ill.
It is your choice if you wish to travel away from the area to an external vaccination centres, or you can wait until you get an invite to the local clinic in Ripley.
If you have received such a letter and wish to book at another vaccination centre, please visit NHS.UK . PLEASE NOTE: You can only use this service if you have received a letter inviting you to book your vaccination appointment.
If you would rather have your jab at the local clinic, simply ignore the letter and wait to be invited locally. There is no need to contact us.
If you do choose to book and go elsewhere for your jab, there is no need to let us know, as we automatically get records of vaccinatons carried out elsewhere.
No you can't. Current guidance is that once you have started a course with one brand of vaccine, you must complete the course with the same brand and not switch over to a different brand, however studies are underway and this might change the guidance.
The answer to this is a most definite 'no'. You will still need to follow all local and national restrictions in force.
Do not assume just because you have been vaccinated that all the problems around you will suddenly go away. There is still a high level of coronavirus infection in the community with most people not yet vaccinated.
Remember as well, the vaccine can take up to a few weeks to start working and offering immunity, so protection from vaccines is never immediate in any case, and also it does not necessarily prevent you from catching coronavirus, but should help to stop it becoming a more severe disease should you catch it. Also it is not yet known whether the vaccine stops you from transmitting the virus if you are do get infected.
Therefore please still follow the rules, even if you (or your family and friends) have had the covid jab.
If you've recently tested positive for coronavirus – even if you have no symptoms – you should wait until 4 weeks after the date you were tested before getting the vaccine. This applies to any patient, including those in care homes who have recently developed covid.
UPDATE May 7, 2020: there is a likely (but not yet proven) link between AZ and blood clots. In the UK there have been cases reported after a first dose of AZ amongst 20 million doses given, equating to a risk of approximately 10 per million. There is as yet, no proven link with age, gender or pre-existing medical conditions.
The benefits of vaccination still massively outweighs the risk. 10 per million equates to a 0.001% risk of developing a blood clot. To put this into perspective, if you catch COVID-19. your risk of:
However, the risks potentially outweigh benefits for younger people where there is low risk of exposure to COVID-19 (with current circulating levels of COVID-19 we are just below medium).
Current recommendations are:
*NB: the term is preferable, that is, you can still accept the AZ vaccine after discussion of risk/benefits with their vaccinator.
We will update this page as and when we receive new information.
GOV.UK leaflet on COVID-19 vaccination and blood clotting
You will be able to access your COVID-19 vaccination status through the NHS App from May 17, 2021. Proof of your COVID-19 vaccination status will be shown within the app. You are advised to register with the app before booking any international travel.
If you do not have access to a smartphone and know that the country you are travelling to requires COVID-19 vaccination status, you can call the NHS helpline on 119 from May 17, 2021 and ask for a letter to be posted to you.
We strongly encourage all eligible patients to have the covid jab, in line with national guidance to protect not only yourselves but also those around you. However if you are certain that you do not want the jab, please ring us and let us know and we will exclude you from any invites for the jab.
We would kindly ask that you review the extensive FAQs document from Joined Up Care Derbyshire and check the very useful leaflets below before you give us a call - we remain as busy as ever dealing with ongoing clinical work during this pandemic and calling us about this will block urgent calls coming in.
Please see leaflets below.
© Dr Michael Wong 2021