"BOOK, book, book."

That's the message from Salisbury's vaccination clinic, as residents with an appointment are the ones who will take priority when receiving their Covid-19 jab.

On Tuesday, December 14, around 450 people turned up at the Malthouse Lane site for a walk-in appointment, despite the centre not advertising a walk-in service. 

Around 480 walk-ins were recorded the previous day.

The surge in bookings and demand comes following an acceleration in the Covid-19 booster roll out across the country.

Anyone aged over 18, who has already received two Covid-19 vaccinations, will be offered a third jab before the end of the year.

And appointments can be booked via the NHS website.

Despite this, concerns have been raised about the website - either there are no appointments available for the city's vaccination hub, or the entire site crashes due to demand.

Asking the public to "book, book, book", Fiona Hyett, operational director for the Salisbury vaccination hub, confessed that the website booking process can be "frustrating", but every day more capacity and cancellations are added to the site.

Booked appointments, rather than walk-ins, will prevent "overwhelming" NHS staff and volunteers, she added.

Fiona urged that those booking a jab and coming to the hub need to "be patient and kind".

“We want to make sure we maximise every bit of capacity to enable as many people to be booked as soon as possible so we need everyone to be patient, because they will get their turn,” she said. 

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As well as booking a vaccination slot in advance, the centre has asked for those who are completely unvaccinated, or those in the clinically vulnerable cohort in need of a booster, to make themselves known to NHS staff when onsite.

Because these are "big risk groups" they are a "priority", Fiona said.

Visiting the hub on Tuesday for her booster, resident Iwoma Innecco told the Journal her experience booking was "fairly simple".

The 41-year-old said: "I don't need the booster right now, as I'm not travelling or anything, but I thought I should do it if the offer is there.

"It is a scary time but it's so important to book when you get that chance."

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