New Year vaccination drive for Manchester after downturn in booster uptake

In the run up to the festive period there was a huge amount of people having their vaccine, adding to the tens of thousands of jabs already given across the city. As workers return to work and kids go back to school, Manchester’s leading health experts are urging people in the city to get their booster.

Manchester health bosses say the downturn could be down to high level of take up, but also because of how many people who caught Covid before Christmas and are still in the mandatory waiting period before getting their booster.

As well as pushing the vaccination message to people going back to work, efforts are being made to roll out the vaccination to pupils aged 12-15 who have gone back to school this week.

Coronavirus infection rates continue to rise in all 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester, with each area still recording a higher infection rate than the national average.

The latest figures have shown that 63,738 people tested positive for coronavirus across Greater Manchester in the week ending 2 January. This is up by 39 % and by 17,968 cases compared to the previous week.

David Regan, Manchester’s Director of Public Health said: “Before Christmas it was incredibly reassuring to see the scale of the booster drive. We saw people in their tens of thousands coming out to get protected in light of the Omicron variant and that will certainly have made a positive impact over Christmas and New Year. 

“We’ve seen a downturn in the number of people getting their booster in the past few days but we know this will be due to high level of take up, but also because of how many people who caught Covid before Christmas and are still in the mandatory waiting period before getting their booster. 

“The next few weeks will be very important for us as we work to restart the momentum seen in in December which is why I’d call for anyone not yet boosted to take advantage of the hundreds of appointments available and make sure their lives aren’t disrupted by Covid in the New Year.”

Walk in clinics are not open to 12-15 year olds, so do have to be booked in advance. It is also important to be aware that there is a 12 week gap between the first and second doses of vaccine for most children aged 12-15. 

If a child has tested positive for Covid-19 since their first dose then the second should be delayed until at least 12 weeks from the date of symptoms or if there were no symptoms from the date of the positive PCR test. 

People are able to book an appointment to get a vaccination or booster by calling 119 or visiting nhs.uk/coronavirus. 

For a list of drop in sites, see here.

Full detail about who is eligible to get their jab can be found on the NHS website.