Aylesbury Vale residents begin to receive Coronavirus vaccination letters

Aylesbury Vale residents have begun to receive requests to attend their Coronavirus vacciations.

However, not all Aylesbury residents will be vaccinated in Aylesbury.

Letters from the NHS begun arriving this weekend as the national vaccination programme “rapidly accelerates”.

These letters have been sent to people aged 80 or over who live 30 to 45 minutes’ drive from one of the seven new sites, including residents who live in Buckinghamshire.

People who receive a letter can choose to book through the national booking system to get a vaccine as soon as possible, but to get vaccinated locally they may have to wait a bit longer.

NHS Buckinghamshire have suggested whichever service residents use, all will be offered an appointment locally by the end of january.

The sites closest to Buckinghamshire are:

Epsom racecourse in Surrey (South East)

Excel Centre in London (London)

Robertson House in Stevenage (East of England)

The letter explains how they can book a slot – over the phone or online through the national booking service.

Over the weekend a vaccination hub has been set up by volunteers at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, with residents of the Vale and Bucks being summoned for their vaccinations.

A statement from NHS Buckinghamshire CCG said:

"Whilst residents who have received the letter can choose to book through the national booking system if they do not want to use the local system, we want to absolutely reassure them that it is our intention that all patients over the age of 80 will be offered a vaccination appointment locally through their GP Practice by the end of January.

"All local Buckinghamshire local sites will be operating by 25 January with two additional sites going live next week in Aylesbury and High Wycombe and further sites to follow later in the month.

"We are also finalising the plans for the two mass vaccination sites in the county."