The COVID-19 vaccination programme from 1 September 2022 is being delivered by your local GP practice across the borough in Primary Care Networks.
The COVID vaccine is being offered free on the NHS. Talk to your doctor or local pharmacist if you have any concerns about the vaccines.
Spring booster
People aged 75 and over in care homes are being prioritised for the spring booster.
From Monday, 17 April 2023, the following groups of people can make an appointment with their GP or visit their local participating pharmacy across the borough for a spring booster vaccination. Most pharmacies are offering this service, however, you may need to make an appointment.
- People aged 75 years and over. If you're turning 75 years old between April 2023 and June 2023, you can also get the spring booster.
- People aged 5 years and over who are immunosuppressed.
More information about the spring booster is available at:
How to get vaccinated
If you require a COVID vaccination, if you're eligible you can book an appointment online using the NHS national booking system.
Book or manage a COVID-19 vaccination using the NHS national booking system
Local vaccination clinics
To help with planning, if you can, please use NHS national booking system to book an appointment for your vaccination. Please only visit the clinics at the times indicated and avoid ringing for appointments.
The clinical team will accommodate walk-in patients at the following clinics where they have the capacity to do so.
Date of drop-in clinic: Sunday, 28 May 2023
Time: 9am–12noon (last walk-in 15 minutes before close)
Location: Hopwood Medical Centre, 1–3 Walton Street, Heywood OL10 2BS
Vaccine clinic:
- A seasonal (spring) booster is for some people, including people over 75 and some who are at higher risk (immunosuppressed) including people aged 12 and over. Must be at least 91 days since your last vaccination and must have had both your first and second vaccinations.
Date of drop-in clinic: Tuesday, 30 May 2023
Time: 6pm–8pm (last walk-in 15 minutes before close)
Location: Hopwood Medical Centre, 1–3 Walton Street, Heywood OL10 2BS
Vaccine clinic:
- A seasonal (spring) booster is for some people, including people over 75 and some who are at higher risk (immunosuppressed) including people aged 12 and over. Must be at least 91 days since your last vaccination and must have had both your first and second vaccinations.
Date of drop-in clinic: Thursday, 1 June 2023
Time: 6pm–7.30pm (last walk-in 15 minutes before close)
Location: Hopwood Medical Centre, 1–3 Walton Street, Heywood OL10 2BS
Vaccine clinic:
- A seasonal (spring) booster is for some people, including people over 75 and some who are at higher risk (immunosuppressed) including people aged 12 and over. Must be at least 91 days since your last vaccination and must have had both your first and second vaccinations.
Date of drop-in clinic: Sunday, 4 June 2023
Time: 9am–12noon (last walk-in 15 minutes before close)
Location: Hopwood Medical Centre, 1–3 Walton Street, Heywood OL10 2BS
Vaccine clinic:
- A seasonal (spring) booster is for some people, including people over 75 and some who are at higher risk (immunosuppressed) including people aged 12 and over. Must be at least 91 days since your last vaccination and must have had both your first and second vaccinations.
Changes to testing from 1 April 2023
Changes to COVID-19 testing will come into effect on 1 April 2023. These changes will make sure testing continues to focus on those at highest risk, enables appropriate clinical treatment and supports the management of outbreaks in high-risk settings including health and social care.
Testing has been scaled back as the severity and impact of COVID-19 on the NHS reduced.
Summary of testing changes:
As of 1 April 2023, routine testing will end for the following groups and settings:
- Routine asymptomatic testing, including testing on admission, will now end across all health and social care settings including hospitals and care homes. The majority of this testing has already been paused since August 2022;
- Routine symptomatic testing of staff and residents in care settings will end. Routine symptomatic testing will also end in other settings including prisons and places of detention, homelessness and refuge settings and asylum settings;
- All PCR testing outside NHS settings will end.
In addition, testing will continue for the following groups, using Lateral flow devices (LFD) tests:
- People in the community and residents in care or other high-risk settings, if they have symptoms and are eligible for COVID-19 treatment, to enable rapid access to treatment.
- Some NHS staff with symptoms working on inpatient wards with severely immunosuppressed patients.
- Staff with symptoms who work in hospices.
- All patients discharged from hospitals into care settings.
- Outbreak testing in the NHS, care settings, and hospices, including prisons and places of detention, homelessness and refuge settings and asylum settings.
- Some hospital patients with symptoms, where needed to inform decisions such as ward transfers.
PCR testing will continue to be used by the NHS for diagnosis where needed for patients before accessing COVID-19 treatment or for specific personal clinically directed care.
In addition, the NHS COVID-19 app, which alerts close contacts of a positive case and provides the latest health advice about the virus, will close on 27 April 2023 and current users will be notified of this through the app.
- Testing from 1 April 2023 - GOV.UK sets out the purpose of ongoing testing, who will be eligible to access testing and when tests should be used.