Two more COVID-19 Vaccination Sites in North Tyneside

Two more COVID-19 Vaccination sites have been stood up across North Tyneside with residents being offered the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in North Shield and Wallsend as well as the existing site in Longbenton.

TyneHealth NHS GP Federation, are continuing to work in partnership with member GP Practices, Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and the North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine, starting with the priority groups as set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

The site in North Shields went live yesterday (Tuesday 22nd December) with the first patient, John Jennings receiving his vaccination yesterday morning, while today (Wednesday 23rd December) the third site in our borough will become operational in Wallsend.

The logistics of delivering the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine present unique challenges for community teams due to the need for extremely low temperature storage and the short period of time (3.5 days) the vaccine is usable once defrosted and diluted. 

We urge residents of North Tyneside not to contact their GP regarding the vaccine rollout, and to remain patient as the most vulnerable groups are contacted and invited for vaccination first, in a phased approach.

Residents are also reminded that a second dose of the vaccine is needed three weeks after the first inoculation to achieve full protection.

Anyone who has any questions about the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, how the vaccine programme works or the practicalities of being vaccinated are asked to visit our Frequently Asked Question which you can find on our COVID-19 Information Hub on the TyneHealth website.

As more COVID-19 vaccines are approved by MHRA, this process will be sped up as logistics allow, with vaccination by GP invitation and appointment only, moving down through the priority groups outlined by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).