Sutton NHS COVID-19 vaccination programme

Last updated: 15 April 2021

Over 45? Book your COVID-19 vaccination online now

If you’re aged over 45, a carer or have an underlying health condition, call 119 or visit nhs.uk/covid-vaccination to book your COVID-19 vaccination appointment.

Your local NHS is delivering the biggest vaccination programme in its history. Everyone has an important part to play to help us with this programme of work

  • The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. They will give you the best protection against coronavirus.
  • It’s never too late to get the Covid vaccine. It’s safe and effective, but speak to your GP if you have any concerns.

Who’s being prioritised for vaccination?

Our priority remains vaccinating the most vulnerable people in south west London. The NHS will offer you a vaccination when it’s your turn – this will be when you’re in a priority group.

Find out who is being prioritised and why

What do you need to know about appointments?

When it’s your turn, you’ll be invited by the NHS to book an appointment.

Read more about how you will be invited for vaccination

Where can you get vaccinated?

The vaccination is being offered in a variety of places across south west London, including GP and pharmacy-led services, hospitals and community vaccination centres.

Find out where you can get vaccinated

Weekly update

We’ve made good progress protecting our most vulnerable residents from COVID-19, but there’s still more work to be done. We’re encouraging everyone who is currently eligible, but has yet to receive the vaccine, that it’s not too late to get the jab.

We’re urging those aged 45 and above, care home residents, health and care staff, and people who are clinically vulnerable to book an appointment for their first dose as soon as possible. If you’re eligible for the vaccine book your appointment online or by calling 119.

Read more in our weekly borough update

Highlight of the week

The St Nicholas Shopping Centre in the heart of Sutton has been transformed into an NHS COVID-19 Vaccination Centre to support the NHS vaccination drive. The Centre will play a key role in vaccinating eligible Sutton residents alongside health and care staff.

Read more.

Top five questions

The NHS is working collaboratively with partners to ensure vaccine messages reach all communities and are tailored to meet their needs. This includes engagement with community and faith-led groups, charities and other voluntary organisations.

Some examples of support include the British Islamic Medical Association, which has consulted various experts about both the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and has advised that eligible, at-risk individuals in the Muslim community should receive the vaccine. We have held two events for members of the Muslim community in Wandsworth with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Network and Tooting Islamic Centre, reaching over 250 residents in total.

The Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, has also issued a video explaining that is important to have the COVID-19 vaccine to protect yourself and others around you.

The Sikh Council has urged Sikhs to safeguard themselves against rumours and misinformation and encouraged them to follow government guidelines and advice.

Faith leaders from the Church of England, Anglican, Methodist, Salvation Army, Baptist, Pentecostal, Evangelical and black majority churches have pledged their support to the ‘Give Hope’ campaign which aims to share information about the COVID-19 vaccine and dispel any misinformation.

The position statements from the British Islamic Medical Association on vaccines approved for use in the UK can be found here: Pfizer/BioNTech, Oxford/AstraZeneca.

A video of the Chief Rabbi can be viewed here.

Information on the Give Hope campaign can be found here.

There is no evidence currently that the new strains will be resistant to the vaccines we have, so we are continuing to vaccinate people as normal. Scientists are looking now in detail at the characteristics of the virus in relation to the vaccines. Viruses, such as the winter flu virus, often branch into different strains, but these small variations rarely render vaccines ineffective.

The UK Chief Medical Officers agreed a longer timeframe between first and second doses so that more people can get their first dose quickly and because the evidence shows that one dose still offers a high level of protection after two weeks.  This decision will help us save lives by getting the maximum benefit for the most people in the shortest possible time.

For further information, please see the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s statement on prioritising the first does.

Getting both doses remains important so we would urge people to return for it at the right time.  From early next week, people will start to get their second dose. They will need to go to the same place as they received their first vaccination. If that was from a local GP, they should wait to be contacted to book their second appointment. If it was at a hospital hub, they will be contacted via text message with around a week’s notice, and between 10 and 12 weeks after the first dose.

We understand that when attending for their first jab some people were given an appointment for their second vaccine and others were not.  No one will be left behind as we have the records of who needs a second jab and we have specific vaccine supplies for both first and second vaccines. 

The Government has, in principle, secured access to seven different vaccine candidates, across four different vaccine types, totalling over 357 million doses. This includes:

  • 40 million doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine
  • 100m doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
  • 7 million doses of the Moderna vaccine, which has been approved by the MHRA but is not expected to be delivered to the NHS until spring. 

There is no evidence to suggest that COVID-19 vaccines will affect fertility and you do not need to avoid pregnancy after vaccination. The vaccine cannot give you or your baby COVID-19.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the Royal College Midwives (RCM) issued a joint statement to provide reassurance around the misinformation that has been shared about the impact of COVID-19 vaccines on fertility.

In the statement, Dr Edward Morris, President at RCOG, said: “We want to reassure women that there is no evidence to suggest that COVID-19 vaccines will affect fertility.”

RCM Chief Executive Gill Walton added: “Women who are eligible for the vaccination should consider discussing any concerns they have with their midwife or healthcare professional.”

The full statement can be read here.

It’s important for everyone to take up the offer of the vaccine when the NHS offers it to them.  As well as the over 50s, the NHS is currently inviting those who are considered more at risk of coronavirus.  Previously eligibility for a vaccine was based on age and health conditions but now the NHS is using a new tool called QCovid which considers all COVID-19 risk factors together, including your age, the area where you live, ethnicity, body mass index, and any underlying health conditions to calculate your “absolute risk” – or chances of needing to go into hospital or dying from COVID-19.  Across South West London, there are still 40,000 people in this group that haven’t booked their vaccine.  If the NHS has contacted you, please book your appointment or call 119 now or go online to book at www.nhs.uk.

Discover more answers in our Q&A

Information in different formats and languages

You can translate all the written content on this website by using the language menu in the top right hand corner of this page.

Useful resources are available in many languages and formats, including British Sign Language, which will help you to learn more about the vaccine and how it’s being offered. The handy resources have been produced by the NHS, Public Health England and partners.

Explore the leaflets to find out more

Engagement with local communities

We know that in Sutton some communities are less likely to take up the offer of the vaccine than other groups.   

We’re engaging with local communities to give people the chance to ask local experts about the vaccine so that they can make informed decisions and we can understand any concerns they may have.  

Among our most recent events we met with Sutton Carer Steering Group and Sutton Health & Care, School Nursing Team. Soon we aim to discuss the vaccines with unaccompanied asylum seekers (UASC) through the Sutton Council Leaving Care Team. The vaccine will be offered to the UASC via an outreach clinic at the Quad in Carshalton. 

To find out more about local engagement, you can read the Sutton Communications and Engagement Plan. 

If you would like to attend a local COVID-19 vaccination event or find out more, email getinvolved@swlondon.nhs.uk 

COVID-19 news

Borough updates

For the latest coronavirus updates, and information from your area, please visit Sutton Council.