Coronavirus / Booking Covid vaccination appointments online now available locally
LOCAL people aged 40 and over are now able to book their Covid booster vaccines through an online booking system, with appointments available at the Gilbertson Park vaccination centre from Monday.
NHS Shetland confirmed this afternoon that 16 and 17 year olds are also able to book their Covid vaccines in this way.
People eligible for the flu vaccine (those over 50 or in an ‘at risk’ category) will also be offered this at the same appointment.
Locum public health consultant Dr Dermot Gorman said the online booking system would also be used for further age groups, and an announcement would be made once appointments are available.
“Using the national portal is a change for Shetland as up till now Covid vaccine appointments have been arranged by telephone either directly from health centres or through the local vaccination team,” he said.
“The national online booking system is working well on the mainland and with around 3,000 additional Shetlanders in the 40-49 age bracket now eligible for a Covid booster this is an opportune moment to adopt it here.
“It should give people greater flexibility to book an appointment that suits them and it will streamline the vaccination process moving forwards. People will still be able to contact the local vaccination team directly by telephone or email if they need to.”
Dr Gorman added that vaccine take up in Shetland has been excellent with some of the highest rates in Scotland across all age groups.
“We hope this new online appointment booking functionality will support everyone to sustain these encouraging vaccination figures,” he said.
To book a vaccination appointment online, visit: https://vacs.nhs.scot/
- If you have never logged in before, you can recover your username by using the ‘recover username‘ option;
- If you have lost or forgotten your username or password, you can recover your username or create a new password by selecting the ‘recover username‘ or ‘forgotten your password‘ option;
- If you would prefer not to use the online system or have difficulty accessing the portal you can book your appointment through the national vaccination helpline on 0800 030 8013;
- Anyone that has not yet been invited for their Covid booster who is over and above the 40-49 age bracket can also now book online or phone the national vaccination helpline on 0800 0308013.
To contact the local team: email shet.vaccination-team@nhs.scot or call the voicemail service 01595 743319.
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