You may have seen reports in the news this week about reducing the waiting time between first and second covid-19 vaccination. The move – reducing the gap from 12 to 8 weeks – is intended to offer more vulnerable people additional protection against new strains of coronavirus.
If you are aged 50 or over or have a pre-existing health condition, you now have the option to bring your second jab forward.
To do this, patients will need to book a second appointment via the national booking system at this link. You can also call the booking service directly on 119.
You will need to enter your details, including your NHS number and date of your first vaccination, then choose your preferred location and date.
Both The Centre for Life in Newcastle City Centre and Newcastle Eagles Basketball arena on Scotswood Road will be there as options if appointment slots are available. We have details on both venues in our vaccine FAQS. You can also choose an alternate venue if you prefer.
If you do reschedule your second dose, we ask that patients please let us know so we can cancel the original bookings and make the space available for someone else. You can tell us you’ve rearranged your second dose by sending us a request through Salvie.
Please note that bringing your second vaccination date forward is optional, and existing second dates will not be rescheduled automatically. If you decide not to rebook your second dose, please attend your second booking as originally arranged.
This option is available to people in priority groups 1-9 only – those aged 50 or older or have pre-existing health conditions.
First dose vaccines are now available to anyone aged 36 or older or who will be 36 on 1 July 2021. Anyone booking their first appointment now will also be able to book their second at the same time.
For those people under the age of 36, please continue to be patient and wait to be invited as the vaccine rollout continues.