John Waplington, an 82-year-old former miner from Arnold has received the Covid-19 vaccination at the Richard Herrod Centre in Carlton which opened today.

The site will support the roll out of the national vaccination programme with further sites set to open across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire in the coming days and weeks. A local vaccination service opened in Ashfield yesterday.

John who worked on the former Gedling Colliery has been shielding due to having respiratory issues caused from his time working in the pit.

John said: “I am absolutely ecstatic. This is life changing for me, I have been living with this virus over my head and with my health issues, it has been a worry. I am very grateful to be vaccinated and hope that we can get back to normal as soon as possible.”

All NHS partners and local authorities across the healthcare system have been working together to prepare for the opening of the local vaccination service at Richard Herrod Centre.

Recipients of the vaccine will be called forward in priority order as set out by the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The NHS will send letters to eligible people in due course and vaccines will be by appointment only. First priority at the Richard Herrod centre is for those over the age of 80 and frontline health and social care workers.

Health bosses have asked the public to wait until they have received a letter before contacting the NHS, their GP or local hospital hub – the letter will have full details of how to make an appointment.  Do not call your GP or turn up at A&E or your doctor’s surgery – the only way to get an appointment and the jab is to follow the instructions in the letter. Once you have received a letter, please make your appointment as quickly as possible.

Dr Nicole Atkinson, GP and Clinical Lead for South Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Partnership said: “This is a hugely important day in the roll out of the Covid-19 vaccination programme locally across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire and it’s fantastic to see that John has had his first vaccination today at the Richard Herrod site.

“A tremendous amount of work is going into the vaccination programme so I’d like to give a big thank you to everyone who has been involved.

“Our priority is to vaccinate those most at risk first so we’re asking the public to be patient and work with us. When it’s your turn to be vaccinated, you will receive a letter from the NHS so please wait for this. In the meantime, the public can help us in the fight against Covid-19 by continuing to follow the guidance to help control the spread of the virus and save lives.”

Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor John Clarke said:

“This is a very important moment in the fight against covid and I am very pleased that Gedling is hosting one of the first vaccination services in Nottinghamshire. Our centre will play an important role in the largest immunisation programme in NHS history.

With the announcement of further lockdowns, it is important that we do everything we can to get the vaccination rolled out to our most vulnerable residents. We will need your patience as the NHS prioritises the over 80s and our health and social workers. The NHS will contact you when it is time to have your vaccination so please do not contact the NHS, ring your GP or local hospital.

If you have received a letter please make sure that you book a slot as soon as possible. If you know someone who has received a letter, a parent or grandparent for example, who may not be able to book on themselves, help them to do so and let’s get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible.

I’d encourage everyone who receives a letter inviting them to have the vaccine, to get it. This will protect them from COVID-19 and hopefully help us all return to a more normal way of life as quickly as possible.”

The public have an important part to play to help:
• please don’t contact the NHS to seek a vaccine, we will contact you;
• when we do contact you, please attend your booked appointments;
• and please continue to follow all the guidance to control the virus and save lives.

For more information about the Covid-19 vaccination, please click here.