We are delighted and privileged to announce that the Covid 19 Community Vaccination programme will begin in Beechlawn Medical Centre on Tuesday February 16th. As you are likely aware, this will begin with that group most vulnerable to the effects of the virus, our older patients, starting with those aged over 85 years.
Our aim is to contact this group by SMS over the coming days to arrange an appointment for their vaccine using our secure online portal. For those unable to navigate this path, we would advise you to ask a family member, neighbour or friend for assistance. Where this is not possible… DO NOT PANIC we WILL help you and make sure you get your vaccine!!! We aim to run clinics as soon as the vaccine arrives in the practice and will do so over the coming weeks, as each batch arrives to our door. Our ability to deliver this vaccine to our patients will be limited only by supply and rest assured we at Beechlawn, in conjunction with our colleagues in the HSE, are working as hard as possible to deliver this to you as quickly as we can.
The vaccine we will be administering to our patients is that produced by Pfizer-BioNTech, also known as ‘Comirnaty.’ You can find some useful information on the particulars of this vaccine, its constituents and some potential side effects of its administration here and here. As you are likely aware, the vaccine is administered in two doses, 28 days apart and both doses will be administered to you in our practice.
We would ask that prior to getting your vaccine you carefully read the attached consent form and if possible print it out at home. If you are happy to proceed with your vaccine we ask that you sign this and bring it with you to your appointment. Again…DON’T WORRY…..if you do not have access to a printer or if you have further concerns about getting the vaccine or worries about side effects, we are available to help. Additionally, the HSE has provided fantastic information pages on their website, and we would ask you to review these pages in the first instance. Of course, your nurse or doctor would be more than happy to answer any further questions you may have on the day of your vaccination.
We look forward to seeing you in Beechlawn over the coming weeks as we continue in our efforts to get control of this virus in our community and re-establish normality once again.
Beechlawn Medical Centre Team
February 2021