UPDATED 9TH FEBRUARY
I wanted to update you on how the NHS is delivering coronavirus vaccinations across the Orpington constituency.
The vaccine is being offered at the Princess Royal University Hospital and vaccination centres run by GPs.
The NHS will contact you when it is your turn to receive the vaccine. Do not miss your booked appointments.
The plan
The NHS is currently offering vaccinations to people most at risk from coronavirus. The priority list is based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
In the first phase, the top four priority groups will be vaccinated by mid-February. This includes:
Residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults
All those 80 years of age and over and frontline health and social care workers
All those 75 years of age and over
All those 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals (not including pregnant women and those under 16 years of age)
In the second phase, the fifth to ninth priority groups will be vaccinated by May. This includes:
All those 65 years of age and over
Adults aged 16 to 65 years in an at-risk group
All those 60 years of age and over
All those 55 years of age and over
All those 50 years of age and over
The final phase is a mass vaccination programme which will offer the jab to the rest of the population by autumn.
Vaccination invites
The NHS will invite you - by phone or letter - to book a vaccination appointment when it's your turn.
The NHS may not contact you straight away, so please be patient.
If you have a concern or trouble booking your vaccine, please email me at gareth.bacon.mp@parliament.uk.
UPDATE: Anyone aged 70 and over who has not yet had their jab, and would like to, can contact the NHS to arrange their appointment.
Local vaccine sites
The following locations will be administering vaccines to Orpington constituents:
The Princess Royal University Hospital will be offering and administering the vaccine to people who are or have been under its care.
Primary Care Networks have set up two vaccine centres run by GPs at Orpington Health & Wellbeing Centre and Community House in Bromley.
Working with the NHS, Bromley Council will open a mass vaccination centre in the Civic Centre in early March. The vaccine will also be offered at appropriate local pharmacy sites.
The NHS will also establish a roving service to vaccinate housebound people and those who cannot travel to a vaccine centre.
Mass vaccination sites The NHS is sending letters to Orpington residents in priority groups inviting them to get their jab at the Excel Centre or Epsom mass vaccination sites. If you cannot travel to this site, you can wait to be contacted by your GP's Primary Care Network to receive a jab locally. However, please be patient as this may take time.
Vaccine information
The Pfizer and Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccines are being rolled out locally. The jab you receive will depend on the vaccination site.
You can find more information about the vaccine on the NHS website.
Beware of vaccine scams
The vaccine will always be available free of charge. The NHS will never ask you to share bank details to confirm your identity or pay for a vaccine.
If you receive a call you believe to be fraudulent, hang up. If you are suspicious about an email you have received, forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk. Suspicious text messages should be forwarded to the number 7726 which is free of charge.
If you believe you are the victim of a fraud, please report this to Action Fraud as soon as possible by calling 0300 123 2040 or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk.
More information
Our Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS South East London CCG, has published a short report explaining how it is administering the vaccine to people across the London Borough of Bromley. Read it in full here.