New vaccination centre to open in Loughton

Local residents aged over 60 are now being invited to book a COVID-19 vaccination at a new large-scale vaccination centre opening at Murray Hall in Loughton, Essex on Thursday 4 March 2021.

GPs have also started inviting a wider group of adults of all ages who have been identified as having underlying health conditions which put them at greater risk of suffering serious illness if they catch coronavirus. This includes people who are newly identified as being on the Shielded Patients List and adult carers who are either registered for Carers Allowance or are identified as a carer on their GP records.

The latest batch of invites will mean everyone in the first seven priority groups will have been offered a jab.

The Murray Hall site is being run by local NHS organisation Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust (HCT), drawing on its track record of delivering local immunisation programmes in the area. HCT set up the centre with the support of Epping Forest District Council, Loughton Town Council, New City College Epping Forest and local voluntary sector colleagues.

Eligible patients can choose to receive their vaccination at Murray Hall or at GP-led services and other large vaccination sites run by HCT including Harlow Leisurezone, the Avanti Meadows Primary School in Bishop’s Stortford and Robertson House in Stevenage.

HCT’s Chief Executive, Elliot Howard-Jones, said: “Everyone at Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust and all our partner organisations have been working very hard in the lead up to opening this centre in Loughton. My sincere thanks go to our project team and our school age immunisation team who are working around the clock to deliver this programme.”

West Essex CCG Chair and Harlow GP, Rob Gerlis, said: “We are thrilled to be opening a new vaccination centre in west Essex. This means many more people will be able to book their vaccinations locally and have the choice between going to a GP-led vaccination service or a larger site.

“West Essex CCG would like to thank all the vaccination teams and volunteers without whom this could not be possible. The vaccination rollout has been hugely successful and the opening of Murray Hall will build on that in the weeks and months ahead.”

Eligible people can book an appointment at nhs.uk/covidvaccination, or by phoning 119 if they cannot use the internet.

Anyone who does not want to or cannot make it to one of these centres can still choose to wait to be contacted by their local GP-led service, which is currently prioritising those with underlying health conditions that put them at greater risk.

People should only attend for a vaccination at if they have a confirmed appointment at that location. Anyone attending for a vaccine appointment is asked to arrive at the time of their appointment to avoid the need to wait to be seen, and to help maintain social distancing.