ADDITIONAL vaccination drop-in sessions are being held to enable more people to get first and second Covid jabs.

In response to rising coronavirus rates across the area being and the region being designated an Enhanced Response Area, the NHS in St Helens is holding the sessions, for which no appointment is needed.

Here is where and when they will be:

Saints Rugby Stadium

Drop in clinic sessions offering the Pfizer vaccine will be running at Saints on Tuesday, June 22 and Friday 25.

The drop-in clinic will be open from 8am to 7pm with a break between 12.30 and 1.30pm on both of these days.

People attending this service for their first vaccine will be given a number to call to arrange their subsequent second dose.

Mobile Vaccination Bus Service

The COVID-19 mobile vaccination service bus will also be in operation also offering walk-up vaccinations.

This will be AstraZeneca for people aged 40-plus and second doses for anyone who had their first dose at least eight weeks earlier in line with current guidance.

It will be in place on Tuesday, June 22 in St Helens town centre on Church Street by the corner of Boots from 1pm to 4pm.

On Friday, June 25 it will be at Earlestown Market from 9.30am to 2.30pm.

Residents are asked to keep an eye on the St Helens CCG website and Facebook page as any new mobile sessions or changes will be listed there.

Pharmacy sites

Two pharmacy sites in the borough are also offering additional appointments for anyone who has had the AstraZeneca vaccine approximately eight weeks ago as their first dose and is able to bring forward their second dose (regardless of where they had the first dose).

Allied Pharmacies on Bold Industrial Estate is accepting walk-ins on the following dates:

Saturday, June 19: 10am – 4pm

Monday, June 21: 10am – 4pm

Wednesday, June 23: 10am – 2pm

Hollowood Chemists on West End Road in Haydock is also offering additional appointments from 9am to 6pm on Tuesday, June 22, Wednesday, June 23 and Friday, June 25, bookable by phoning directly on 01744 453364 and selecting option 3.

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Julie Ashurst, director of primary care and transformation at St Helens CCG, said: “COVID-19 cases are increasing in St Helens, and we know that this is linked to the Delta variant of concern, first identified in India, which is easier to spread - we think around 60 to 80 per cent more easily than previous strains.

“Because of this we really want to make sure as many of our residents as possible are protected. We know vaccination, especially both doses, is making a difference to hospitalisations and how poorly people become

“Vaccination uptake in St Helens has been good but there are still more than 20 per cent of our eligible population who haven’t taken up the offer so far. We hope that by making clinics more accessible and taking it into the heart of communities, people who so far haven’t had their first dose will be persuaded to come and see us and get jabbed.

People who can attend drop in sessions are as follows:

• Everyone aged over 18

• Carers over 16 (you don’t have to be a registered carer, simply someone that has caring responsibilities for a vulnerable person)

• Anyone with an underlying health condition over the age of 16

• People who have already had their first dose, and are due a second (over 40s can bring their second dose forward from 12 weeks to 8).

The mass vaccination site at Saints run by St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust remains open seven days a week and bookable for all those eligible for a vaccine.

From June 16 to 19, as the centre moves to the ground floor, there will only be AstraZeneca booked second doses available on the second floor. The centre will re-open fully for all booked appointments for all vaccines on Sunday, June 20.

Appointments at Saints as well as the two pharmacy sites are also bookable online at nhs.uk/covid-vaccination and by phoning 119.