Frequently Asked Questions about the programme

Vaccination sites

Below you will find a list of vaccination sites where bookable appointments are available. You will be able to book appointments at the Large Scale Vaccination Centres and Community Pharmacy sites via the National Booking System. Vaccination centres that are led by Primary Care Networks are booking appointments by invitation.

In addition to the list below, we are also offering walk-in clinics at a range of locations. You can find these walk-in locations via www.thevaccinators.co.uk, or by visiting our CCG webpage regarding walk-ins here. 

The following sites are currently part of the vaccination programme in our area:

Hospital Hubs in our area are currently offering the booster vaccine to their staff, on an appointment basis.

The following sites have delivered vaccinations previously as part of the programme, but are not currently vaccinating:

The national COVID-19 vaccination booking service only shows sites where appointments are currently available. This means you will not see local sites on the national booking service website where they are fully booked for the coming days.

If you cannot select a large scale vaccination site near you when you access the national booking service, you can either choose to book at an alternative location which still has appointments available, or try again later in the day to see if appointments at a site that is nearer to you have become available.

You can find the full list of large scale vaccination sites in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough below:

• City Care Centre in Peterborough
• Grafton Centre in Cambridge
• Oak Tree Centre in Huntingdon
• Horsefair Shopping Centre in Wisbech
• Chesterton Indoor Bowls Club in Cambridge
• The old Next shop at Queensgate Shopping Centre, Peterborough
• Eatons Community Centre at The Maltings, Eaton Socon

All of the above sites are also offering daily walk-in vaccination clinics. You can find details on these walk-in locations via www.thevaccinators.co.uk, or by visiting our CCG webpage regarding walk-ins here. 

All young people aged 16 or 17 are now eligible to have the COVID-19 vaccine. You can get your vaccine quickly and easily by using a walk-in vaccination clinic. You can find these walk-in locations via www.thevaccinators.co.uk, or by visiting our CCG webpage regarding walk-ins here. If you would prefer to book, you can now book your appointment online via www.nhs.uk/covidvaccine or by calling 119.

Young people aged 16 or 17 will be offered a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine, in line with current national guidance, unless they are in one of the following groups:

• Those who are health and care workers.
• Those who are clinically extremely vulnerable. 
• Those who have underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality).
• Those who are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill.
• Those who share living accommodation on most days (and therefore for whom continuing close contact is unavoidable) with individuals who are immunosuppressed.
• Those who are within 3 months of their 18th birthday 

People who are in the above specified groups will be offered two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, at least 8 weeks apart.

We are committed to ensuring that all of our eligible 12-15 year old patients can access the vaccine safely. 

If the child/young person attends a special school in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, they will be contacted by their school offering a date for vaccination in the school setting in September 2021. 

Otherwise, parents/carers of eligible children will shortly receive a letter from their GP Practice with details of where they can be vaccinated.  This will include attending one of the large scale  Vaccination Centres in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, or if this is not a suitable environment,  contact details of our vaccination team who will explore alternative options.

All patients aged 12-15 should be accompanied to receive their vaccine by someone with parental responsibility.  Patients aged 12-15 will be required to present their GP letter when attending a large scale Vaccination Centre as proof of eligibility.

Further information can be found here

The Government has announced that healthy school-aged children aged 12 to 15 will now be eligible to have their vaccine. The vaccination will be delivered through a schools-based vaccination programme, which NHS England is coordinating directly with school immunisation providers. Alternative provision will be arranged for children who are home schooled, in secure services or in specialist mental health settings.

Invitations are expected to begin being sent out soon.

The JCVI has reviewed extensive clinical evidence for the safety of giving the COVID-19 vaccine to children and young people in the eligible groups and have determined it to be safe and effective. The JCVI has determined that the benefit of vaccinating children in these groups outweighs the risks. 

All adults in England are now eligible to have the COVID-19 vaccination. If your GP practice is offering the vaccine, they will get in touch with you to invite you when it's the right time for you to have your jab.

Alternatively, you can book your appointments online via the National Booking Service or by calling 119 if you do not use the internet. You can also choose to attend a walk-in clinic for your vaccine. You can find information about walk-in clinics that are currently planned in our area on our walk-in page here.

 We are asking patients to come to their appointment on their own unless they are in a wheelchair, but friends or relatives are more than welcome to wait in the car park if they have driven together. We would recommend only travelling or asking for support from someone within your household or support bubble in line with current COVID-19 guidance.

If you need assistance from a carer or relative to walk to and through the vaccination centre, they are also welcome to accompany you wearing a face covering.

We would ask that you consider asking a member of your household or support bubble to drive you to the appointment if you think they may be able to help in the first instance, as our volunteer driver team will have limited capacity.

If you do need help from the Local Authority’s voluntary travel support service, you can access this service online via http://bit.ly/Cambstransport. You can also call them between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday on 0345 045 5219 to book your transport.  Where possible, most transport providers ask for a minimum of 24 hours notice for bookings.

If you are offered your second vaccination appointment but are not able to attend within the recommended 8 week time frame, for example due to illness, you should book your second dose appointment as soon as possible once you are able to attend. You do not have to restart your vaccination course even if over 84 days have passed since you had your first dose. Please make sure you do receive your second dose as two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will give you the best possible protection.

If you would rather walk-in to have your second dose after at least 8 weeks have passed, this is also possible. You can find all of our walk-in locations via www.thevaccinators.co.uk, or by visiting our CCG webpage regarding walk-ins here. 

From 17 May 2021, people in England who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can demonstrate their vaccination status for international travel. A full course is currently two doses of any approved vaccine. Vaccine status will be available from: 

• the NHS App which you can download from app stores 

• the NHS website (from 17 May 2021)

It may take more than a week for your identity to be checked and verified so you can use these services.

If you cannot access these online services, and you have had 2 vaccines, you can request a paper letter from the NHS by calling 119. Only call 119 if you had your second dose more than 5 working days ago. It may take 7 working days for the letter to arrive.

When you're planning your travel, check the latest information on demonstrating your COVID-19 status when travelling abroad on the gov.uk website. Make sure there is time to get  proof of your vaccination status before you leave.

Please note: Your GP practice is not able to provide you with a letter that shows you your COVID-19 vaccination status. If you require such a letter, please do not contact your GP practice and use the routes above instead.

In our area, you can find out more about how to apply for various health care professional and support roles on our COVID-19 vaccination teams across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough via Cambridgeshire Community Services (CCS) NHS Trust’s website.

If you’re interested in opportunities available across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, CCS would love to hear from you.  You can find out more by:

• visiting their website - where you can also apply online, or
• contacting the CCS HR Team via ccs.hrteam@nhs.net