Key Highlights :
Many elderly people across the UK have been invited to book their Spring Covid-19 booster jab, but for an 86-year-old woman from Burton upon Stather, North Lincolnshire, the closest walk-in centre was listed as the Orchard 2000 Pharmacy in Hull - a 45-minute drive away and 22 miles from her home. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, is unable to travel due to medical reasons, leaving her daughter frustrated and her mother distressed.
The NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) has said that eligible patients may choose to wait to be contacted by their GP practice to receive their booster jab, and that the first few clinics will be held in the coming weeks.
The woman's daughter said: "My mum got the letter asking her to book and it said she could either book through 119 or go into a walk-in centre, so she was going to go to a walk-in centre in Scunthorpe. I went online to have a look at the available walk-in centres, because my mum doesn't have internet, and the nearest ones were in Hull and Doncaster."
When she phoned 119 to check whether or not there was any closer walk-in centres, she was told that the only appointment available was in Hull. After checking online again on Wednesday, April 21, the closest walk-in centres to Scunthorpe to receive the Covid-19 booster vaccination were still showing on the NHS website as being in Hull and Doncaster.
The ICB spokesperson said: "Every eligible patient registered with a North Lincolnshire practice will be offered a Covid booster vaccination and whilst they can choose to book via the national booking system, eligible patients may choose to wait to be contacted by their GP practice if they haven't been contacted already. Vaccinations are being provided at four primary care centres and three pharmacies in the area, including Cedar Medical Practice and Ancora Healthcare pharmacy in Scunthorpe itself. Covid is still a virus that can cause serious illness and hospitalisation, and so it is really important those at greatest risk come forward, when invited, and boost their protection in the coming weeks."
The woman's daughter added: "It's made me so frustrated, but my mum is in a lucky position because she's got children who can support her. But there'll be a lot of other people in the villages who don't have that."
The NHS has said it will be offering vaccines in North Lincolnshire within 'the coming weeks', so it is important that those who are eligible to receive the Covid-19 booster jab take the opportunity to do so. It is also important to remember that the virus can still cause serious illness and hospitalisation, so it is essential that those at greatest risk come forward when invited.