NHS teams are visiting schools in Sefton to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine to 12-15-year-olds.

The Sefton School Health team and Immunisation Service team at Mersey Care NHS Trust have been visiting schools after half term to offer children aged 12 to 15 a chance to get vaccinated, with consent from a parent or guardian. They aim to have visited most schools in Sefton by the end of November, to get as many young people as possible protected.

Recently, the national booking system opened so that young people could visit existing vaccination centres across the borough together with their parents as an extra way to get vaccinated during half term and beyond. 

So far, more than 67,000 health 12-15-year-olds have been vaccinated in the North West through the in and out of school offers. The NHS has visited more than 300 schools in the region since rolling out the jab to this age group at the end of September.

Parents and children aged 12 to 15 will be able to continue to get their jab both at school and by booking in at a vaccine centre online through the National Booking Service. Pharmacy-led vaccine centres that are offering the vaccine to 12-15-year-olds in Sefton are:

• Mary Davey Chemist, 69 Randall Drive, Bootle
• Ainsdale Vaccination Centre, 56 Station Rd, Ainsdale
• Leyland Road Methodist Hall, Southport
• Linacre Methodist Mission, Linacre Rd, Litherland

In the North West, more than 10.8 million vaccines have been given since the COVID-19 vaccination programme started in December 2020, part of more than 86 million vaccinations delivered nationally.

Margaret Jones, Sefton Council’s Director of Public Health, said: “We want it to be as easy and convenient as possible for children to be vaccinated and get protected for themselves, their classmates and their families alike.

“There is a lot of information available for parents and young people about the vaccines, so it’s great that they can make an informed decision together.”

Fiona Taylor, chief officer at NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS Southport and Formby CCG, said: “It’s been wonderful to see so many young people coming along to vaccine clinics in Sefton with their parents or guardians during half-term.

“The take up of the COVID-19 vaccine has been fantastic in Sefton, with 206,000 people coming forward to get their jabs so far. We are so pleased that our residents are stepping up to protect their local communities.”

To find out more about the COVID-19 vaccination programme in Sefton, visit the NHS South Sefton CCG website: www.southseftonccg.nhs.uk/get-informed/latest-news/walk-in-or-book-a-covid-19-vaccine or the NHS Southport and Formby CCG website: www.southportandformbyccg.nhs.uk/get-informed/latest-news/walk-in-or-book-a-covid-19-vaccine

To book a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for a 12-15-year-old please call 119 or visit the National Booking Service website: www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination