Local COVID-19 Vaccination Programme Update for Rural Rother

As the vaccine is being rolled out across the UK we know local residents are keen to understand how the local vaccination programme will be run.

Battle Town Council has this morning received an update from Huw Merriman MP in conjunction with the Surrey and Sussex Clinical Commissioning Groups and the CEO of Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (who are leading the roll-out of the vaccination programme in East Sussex).

It has been agreed that rural Rother GP practices (including Battle) will be served by a vaccination hub at Etchingham village hall which is expected to go live at some point this week (W/C 11th January 2020). The Etchingham vaccine centre will be run by those within the Sussex team who have stepped up to help.

If you are within this area, your GP surgery will have signed off its patients to be handled by the Etchingham vaccination hub. The next step will be for each surgery’s patient list to be contacted. Please note the NHS will contact you with an appointment when it is your turn, please do not contact them beforehand.

Although this is not as local as many residents would like Huw Merriman MP has advised the reason for the location of the hub is due to the nature of the Pfizer Vaccine and the logistics surrounding it.

The aim is to ensure that stocks of Astra Zeneca get delivered soon, so that residents can receive this vaccination at a more local level.

In addition to the Etchingham Vaccination hub, the Conquest Hospital is also serving as a Hospital vaccination hub.

For the full update from Huw Merriman MP please visit his website: COVID-19 Mass Vaccination | Huw Merriman

As the plans for the vaccination programme are constantly evolving, further updates will be published by Battle Town Council as soon as they are received.

Useful links:

First phase priority list for vaccination

Sussex Health Care Covid-19 vaccination roll out

Frequently Asked Questions About Covid-19 vaccination

Volunteer to help deliver the vaccine