Pop in for your jab as Newcastle’s newest vaccination service opens

Based at Times Square at the rear of the Centre for Life, the Pop Up is initially opening four days a week and will offer up to 500 vaccinations a day starting on Tuesday 22^nd June.

It will operate on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday for the first week.

Vaccinations will be available from 8.30am until 7pm with three sessions – morning, afternoon, evening, making it even easier for people to get their vaccine. At the start of each session 150-200 tickets will be issued for that time slot. They will be issued on a first come, first served basis and people will be asked to queue and wait to be vaccinated.

With everyone over 18 now eligible for a vaccine, the location of the Pop Up makes it easy for people out enjoying the city centre, next door Euro Fan Zone and travelling from central station to take the opportunity to get their vaccine.

Professor Neil Watson, Chief Operating Officer for the NHS Covid Vaccination Programme for the North East and North Cumbria, reminded people how important vaccination is to helping everyone get back to social things they enjoy.

“We know younger people often want to access services in a more immediate way so we’ve introduced this new Pop Up service which will help make it as easy as possible to get their vaccine.”

“Getting vaccinated is the best way we can get back to the normal things we can enjoy like all the social activities in Times Square and the pubs, bars and clubs nearby.”

“We know how very effective the vaccines we have are being in preventing people becoming very ill and reducing transmission – so getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself, your friends and your family.”

Councillor John-Paul Stephenson, cabinet member Public Health and Culture at Newcastle City Council said, 

"All adults are now eligible for a Covid vaccination, and we are ensuring there are opportunities for everyone to get their vital jab as quickly as possible. 

"This latest pop-up site in Newcastle City Centre will be perfect for anyone who is flexible and wants to drop in for their vaccine at a time that suits them, they might be shopping with friends or heading for a nice city centre meal and can add a jab to their plans. 

"The vaccine is our best route out of the pandemic, every vaccine adds another layer of protection around our city and edges us a step closer towards normality. Please do your bit, step forward for a vaccine when invited our head along to the pop-up site and take your place in the queue."

The large vaccination centre based inside the Centre for Life continues to vaccinate people who have booked through the National Booking Service and has increased its capacity to around 1500 people a day.

The vaccine programme across Newcastle has ramped up activity in the last weeks as it aims to vaccinate over 17k people a week ahead of the 19^th July deadline. This includes additional services on the Vaccine Bus, more community pharmacies offering the jab and more appointments through the large vaccination centres.

There remains capacity at the Newcastle Eagles facility for vaccines this week – with over 1.000 available this weekend. Appointments at the Newcastle Eagles should be booked through the National Booking service or by calling 119.

How the Pop Up Vaccination works

At the start of each session 150-200 tickets will be issued for that time slot. They will be issued on a first come, first served basis and people will be asked to queue and wait to be vaccinated.

Having a ticket for that session guarantees your vaccine within that time slot. People are asked to bring identification to prove they are over 18 and therefore eligible for vaccination. People are asked to attend no more than 10 minutes before the timeslot opens.

Once all the tickets for that session have been issued no more tickets will be given out until the start of the next session, when the process repeats itself.

The tickets are single use only and are not transferable. Tickets for each session will only be given out from the stated start time and not before.

The queue and wait system will be managed in a safe and socially distant way and should prevent long queues and people waiting excessive times.

The current Week 1 timetable for the pop-up site is detailed below, options are being explored for the service to run on further days depending on resources.