The borough’s Coronavirus vaccination programme starts this week.
Action Together are sharing an important message from Oldham Council and asking for your support to get the message out to Oldham residents:
We are getting in touch to ask for your support to help with the borough’s Coronavirus vaccination programme. As you’ll be aware this is the biggest mass vaccination programme in the history of the NHS.This means our staff, the NHS and support services are having to tackle and overcome challenges and issues on a daily basis.
One area where we hope you can help is passing on some key information to the residents and communities you work with around the roll out of the vaccination and how people will be contacted when it is their turn to receive their vaccination. Some of our most vulnerable and elderly residents aged 80 and above will be the first to be offered the vaccination. Residents in these age groups can be wary of answering the phone to numbers they do not recognise. We have already had scams reported to us of people offering a vaccine in exchange for cash.
This is how the appointment system will work:
You’ll be called by a staff member from a number starting 0161 770.
The caller will identify themselves and say they are calling on behalf of your GP and they are getting in touch about booking an appointment for a Coronavirus vaccine.
The caller will then offer dates and times for them to attend clinic. They will also give the location of the site where you will receive it. This may not be your usual health surgery.
You’ll also be given the time, date and location for the second dose of the vaccination if you are receiving the Pfizer vaccination. It is vital you return and keep your second appointment 21 days later.
The callers booking vaccinations will not ask for any other personal details other than asking you to confirm your name. They certainly will not ask for any money.
Once you have received the vaccination you must not drive for 15 minutes after and will need to remain in clinic until that time has elapsed.
Please can you pass these details onto the communities and residents – especially the elderly and vulnerable – you work with and tell them not to worry as they’ll be called when it is their turn.
NHS staff are going to be very busy over the next few months so it is really important that people wait to be contacted by us and not the other way round – we have already taken calls from people. This will help ensure that the process runs as smoothly as possible.
The vaccine is safe and has gone through many months of testing before reaching this stage.
For more information visit the NHS website https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/why-vaccination-is-safe-and-important / or https://www.oldham.gov.uk/info/201170/coronavirus/2664/coronavirus_vaccination_programme
You can download the official graphic to share here:
https://oldhamcouncil-newsroom.prgloo.com/resources/1no3g-47fip-67qkr-zi8oh-49dka
Many thanks,
Oldham Council Communications Team
Contact Information
Oldham Council Communications Team
communications@oldham.gov.uk