We have now passed the 200,000 mark of Tower Hamlets residents who have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. This is a milestone achievement for the GP Care Group, healthcare professionals, and the borough.
We want to say a huge thank you to our residents, staff, and our volunteers, and everyone working behind the scenes, who has taken the vaccine so far and vaccinated residents in the borough! Your incredible efforts towards helping to keep Tower Hamlets safe is appreciated.
Please continue to encourage take up of the COVID vaccines to eligible cohorts to reduce risk of the virus spreading. With a young population and an average age of 31, this is a critical time for Tower Hamlets and the local vaccination programme.
As part of the programme, nearly 500 residents were vaccinated at the Council's recent summer vaccine festival in Langdon Park. Offering first and second Pfizer vaccinations, residents and particularly those aged 18 to 30 were encouraged to come along, enjoy live music and a free food voucher when getting jabbed.
In addition to pop-up clinics and vaccine events, residents can book their COVID-19 vaccination at a number of local clinics including the Care Group's Art Pavilion vaccination centre in Mile End, Cable Street GP Surgery, and an ever-growing list of community pharmacies. There are also walk-in slots available at most clinics and no ID or documentation is needed for people to access their vaccine.
John Biggs, Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said: "200,000 vaccines is an incredible achievement and I want to thank all of our residents who have stepped forward to have their jab. We are a young borough so still have a lot of work to do in making sure anyone eligible gets their vaccine, but this is incredible progress and testament to our health partners and volunteers who have got us to this point.
"With cases of COVID-19 rising across London and the UK in recent weeks, everyone who is eligible should take up the offer of free vaccination. Vaccination, alongside regular testing even without symptoms, is the most effective tool we have against COVID-19."
Councillor Rachel Blake, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing, said: "It's fantastic that we've gone to this significant milestone, but although we're now in stage 4 of the roadmap out of lockdown this is not the time to get complacent. We know there are still many residents who are eligible but have not yet had their vaccine.
"As the world opens up, we still want to make sure our residents are safe and that we're all doing everything we can to keep our community safe – getting vaccinated is a huge part of this. We will continue to work hard with our partners to engage with younger people and get as many people in our borough protected against COVID-19."
Anyone wanting to book a vaccine appointment can do so through the council's online booking form.
Full details of vaccine clinics in Tower Hamlets can be found on the the council's website.
