Despite what some people have experienced, Westridge and Riverside vaccination centres are not set up to receive walk-ins for Covid booster jabs.
Westridge, which is currently jabbing around 2,000 residents a week, is run by a consortium of East Wight GP practices.
Pressure on system
Although Westridge have accommodated residents who have turned up without appointments for booster jabs, having an extra 500 people a week to deal with is putting immense stress and pressure on the system.
Residents should wait to hear from their GP (they will get to you eventually) to be invited to book at Westridge.
Book online for Riverside
Alternatively you can try the online booking system to find a slot at Riverside Centre, Newport. New appointments are released daily and availability changes rapidly.
Although some readers who contacted News OnTheWight say they’ve tried online booking daily, others have been able to get slots booked without any problem.
Stay on the Island
If you’re only offered a mainland appointment, please wait and try again.
Please do not call your surgery – they are being inundated with calls about booster jabs, which is stopping them being able to help patients with medical issues.
Walk-ins for 1st/2nd dose jabs – not booster
Westridge and Riverside are offering walk-in jabs for those receiving their first or second Covid jab. See where and when.
Stephanie Clark, Senior Clinical Lead for the Solent vaccination programme, said,
“The Riverside Centre is open for people to book their booster vaccinations via the national booking system as well as for anyone aged 12-15 who may not have been vaccinated in their school.
“In addition, the centre, along with GP-led sites, continues to be open for walk-ins for people aged 16 and over who still need to have their first and second (eight weeks after first vaccination) Covid-19 vaccinations. Please look at the grab a jab website for the times of these walk-in sessions.
“While the majority of people are keeping their appointments, we are seeing an increase in people not keeping their booked appointments and therefore people are having to wait longer for an appointment than necessary.
“If you can no longer keep your appointment then please cancel it so we can offer it to someone else.
“We encourage people to come forward to receive their vaccines and we look forward to welcoming you to the centre.”
