122,000 people in the Rochdale borough have now received their second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine - more drop-in clinics are running again this weekend and next week

Date published: 06 August 2021

More than 141,700 people in the Rochdale borough have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and, of those, 122,395 people have also received their second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

There are drop-in vaccination clinics running this weekend at the Phoenix Centre in Heywood and at Littleborough Sports Centre. More are running next week at the Phoenix Centre and other locations across the borough (see below).

 

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Local vaccination programme

On Saturday (7 August) there is a drop-in vaccination clinic running at the Phoenix Centre in Heywood ​from 9am – 2pm. This clinic will be offering first and second doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines (for anyone who had their first jab eight weeks ago or more) to people aged 18 or over registered with a GP in the borough of Rochdale.

On Sunday (8 August) there is a drop-in vaccination clinic at ​Littleborough Sports Centre, ​9.30am – 12.30pm. This clinic will also be offering first and second doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines (for anyone who had their first jab eight weeks ago or more) to people aged 18 or over registered with a GP in the borough of Rochdale.

Next week, drop-in sessions are being held at the Phoenix Centre in Heywood and the mobile unit is visiting different locations.

Details of all vaccination clinics can be found at:

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/events/search?searchtype=text&searchvalue=vaccine

 

 

In his weekly update, chief executive of Rochdale Council, Steve Rumbelow, informed councillors that the local infection rate is no longer in the top 20 nationally, and is falling.

He said: "Like we are seeing nationally, we are seeing our infection rate drop again. We now sit at 274 per 100,000 (as of 1 August).

"While we can take some encouragement from the drop in the rate, and the fact that we’re not in the top 20 highest infection rates currently, we know all too well that we can’t afford to drop our guard.

"We know that people don’t test as much when schools are not in, so this is affecting the rate.

"Where people are testing we are seeing high positivity rates so we know the virus is still in our community. Covid has not gone away at all, we must remain vigilant.

"Sadly what hasn’t dropped is the number of people who have died, we saw 3 people die last week. It’s a stark reminder that we are nowhere near out of the woods and we have to keep testing and vaccinating to keep people safe; this virus is still deadly. "

On the vaccination programme, he said: "Last week we saw a good increase in people taking up their second dose which is pleasing. We’ve been doing a lot of communications work to promote vaccine take up to people under 30 with our ‘Back for Good’ campaign.

"We have also been sharing news stories online that show how high the rate is in 19-30 year olds nationally and also how many of those in hospital are not vaccinated at all or fully.

"Last week we got 645 people to have their first dose and 3,426 to have their second. So this means that 76% of our adult population has had their first dose and 64.9% have had both doses, that is up 1.4% on last week.

"We’re still below the target of 85% of the adult population having at least one dose so clinics are still being held and we continue to really push the vaccine message.

"We’re also doing a news story this week that is encouraging pregnant women to take up the vaccine to protect them and their baby as we are seeing many pregnant women very unwell with Covid-19."
 

Read more: Pregnant women encouraged to get Covid-19 vaccinePublished: 06 August 2021

On the situation in hospitals, Mr Rumbelow added: "The hospital remains very, very busy and there are real pressures on services and staff. We’re all trying to help reduce the pressures in the system as much as we can with signposting people to other forms or support or trying to get them to access the most appropriate support.

"As well as still having Covid-19 pressures it’s clear that our health services have a large backlog to work through so, alongside our health colleagues we’re working on ways to help update people who are on waiting lists for surgery etc. We’re also going to be sharing information and advice on general health and wellbeing to not only support people but also ease the pressure in our health system.

"Plans are well underway for rolling out the booster programme in early September.

"We are aware of the concerns people are feeling over face-to-face GP appointments and we continue to work with surgeries on their pressures and the continued demand and we will provide regular updates on this work as it’s been a concern you’ve seen residents raise with you. GPs and clinical staff are working incredibly hard on the vaccine programme and that will continue with their dedicated work on the booster jab alongside the flu jab and we continue to link in ways we can support the system and attempt to ease the pressure."
 

Read more: Health bosses defend doctors after claims GPs are ‘in their castle protecting themselves’ instead of seeing patientsPublished: 04 August 2021

 

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Case numbers in the borough have fallen again in the past seven days. The rate for the Rochdale borough for the week ending 30 July is 303 cases per 100,000 people, a decrease of 39% on the week before when the rate was 499 cases per 100,000.

 

 

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If you can't get to a drop-in vaccination session, the NHS Covid vaccination programme is now open to anyone aged 18 or over - appointments can be booked through the NHS booking service.

If it has been at least eight weeks since your first vaccination and you've not received your invite for your second vaccination, you can phone or email to book.

Residents who are registered with a GP in the borough (Heywood, Littleborough, Middleton, Milnrow and Rochdale), can book an appointment at one of the four vaccination centres in the borough by calling 0300 303 0355 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 4pm) or emailing hmrccg.hmr.enquiries@nhs.net.

 

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Where to be vaccinated?

The borough has four community vaccination centres in operation; in Rochdale, Heywood, Middleton and Littleborough. These local sites are run by groups of GPs with the support of the council and NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Group. Vaccinations are also being administered at Rochdale Infirmary.

There are also 11 large scale vaccination centres and 38 pharmacy led sites across the North West that residents can book through the national booking service online or over the phone.

The national booking system can not be used to book in at any of the local vaccination hubs within the borough. If it is not convenient for you to travel out of the borough for a vaccination, you can opt to wait to be invited to attend one of the local vaccination centres in the Rochdale borough or attend one of the drop-in or drive-through clinics being held.

Answers to key questions around the vaccination process and details of pop-up, drop-in and drive-through clinics can be found at:

• www.rochdale.gov.uk/covidvaccine

 

 

The local FAST test programme has four test sites across the borough.

Anyone who cannot work from home or comes into regular contact with the public is encouraged to take up this offer of new Find And Stop Transmission (FAST) testing to protect themselves, their loved ones, and other residents.

The FAST testing programme, which use lateral flow tests, aims to identify those who unknowingly have the virus as they have no symptoms – otherwise known as asymptomatic.

As part of the national roadmap out of restrictions, the government is asking the public to take-up twice weekly FAST testing. This is quick and easy to do and you will be playing your part in helping to stop the spread of the virus, while teams work on the vaccine rollout.

You can take part at your local FAST testing site or through community collect packs.
 

Read more: Covid-19 testing packs available across the boroughPublished: 21 April 2021

FAST tests are only for people showing no symptoms. You must not attend if you have any symptoms. Tests arefree and there is no need to book you can simply turn up at one of the sites across the borough:

Rochdale – Nye Bevan House, Maclure Road, Rochdale, OL11 1DN

• Mon to Fri 8am - 1pm
• Sat, Sun and bank holidays 9am - 1pm

Heywood – York House Surgery, York Street, Heywood, OL10 4NN

• Mon to Fri 8am - 1pm
• Sat, Sun and bank holidays 9am - 1pm

Middleton – Bowlee Sports Centre, Windermere Road, Middleton, M24 4LA

• Mon & Weds 8am - 1pm (inc bank holiday Mondays)

Middleton – Alkrington Community Centre, Hardfield Road, Middleton M24 1TQ

• Mon 11am - 6pm 

Littleborough – Hare Hill Bowling Club, Townhouse Road Littleborough, OL15 9BG

• Mon to Fri 8am - 1pm
• Sat, Sun and bank holidays 9am - 1pm

If you have Covid-19 symptoms please do not attend one of the FAST test sites. You should book a test online or by phoning 101.

 

 

The borough has three local test centres:

• Rochdale - in the car park at Rochdale Leisure Centre, Entwisle Road, Rochdale OL16 2HZ
• Middleton - in the marquee on the Market Place Car Park next to Middleton Arena, Old Hall Street, Middleton M24 1AG
• Heywood - Heywood Civic Centre, LCpl Stephen Shaw MC Way, Heywood OL10 1LW

You must drive, walk or cycle to the site - do not use a taxi or public transport. If this is not possible, you'll need to order yourself a home test.

• www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test