Vaccine walk-in clinics offered 5 days in a row to boost uptake

02 August 2021

Pop-up and walk-in clinics are being offered to Darlington residents to boost COVID-19 vaccine uptake across the town.

From Wednesday (28 July) to Sunday (1 August) daily walk-in clinics were available in Darlington to make getting a COVID vaccine as easy as possible. These included:

Wednesday 28 – Town centre pop-up clinic and Darlington Arena walk-in clinic
Thursday 29 – Town centre pop-up clinic
Friday 30 – Cockerton Pharmacy walk-in clinic
Saturday 31 – Darlington Arena walk-in clinic
Sunday 1 - Cockerton Pharmacy walk-in clinic

As of Sunday (1 August) 83.9% of eligible Darlington residents have had one dose of a COVID vaccine and 69% of those have had both doses.

The pop-up clinics will return to the town centre on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 August for Darlington Pride and walk-in clinics are on at the Darlington Arena every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday until 30 August.

Penny Spring, the Director of Public Health for Darlington Borough Council, said: “It’s fantastic to see the variety of pop-up and walk-in clinics now on offer in Darlington.

“As the entire region has been moved to Enhanced Response Area (ERA) status due to high COVID transmission rates, it is more important than ever to encourage as many eligible residents as possible to get both doses of a COVID vaccine, which will help to reduce transmission across the borough.

“No appointments are needed and anyone over the age of 18 can attend - so even if you have previously turned down your invite from the NHS to get your jab, you can turn up at a clinic to have your first dose. By attending a pop-up or walk-in clinic, you can play your part to protect yourself, your loved ones and our wider communities from COVID-19.”

The Darlington Pride pop-up clinic, provided by the NHS Northumberland CCG, will be in the town centre between 10am and 5pm on both Saturday and Sunday, offering both first and second doses of Pfizer as well as Oxford/AstraZeneca.

Attendees are recommended to get their vaccinations ahead of consuming alcohol as the NHS team will not be able to offer jabs to those who attend the clinics already intoxicated.

No appointments are needed, but it must have been at least eight weeks since your first dose to get your second at any of the clinics.

Additional walk-in clinics and pop-ups in Darlington will be advertised on the Council’s social media channels, as well as by the NHS Tees Valley team.

Appointments are still available to book at the Darlington Arena, Cockerton Pharmacy and Firthmoor Community Centre vaccination sites in Darlington by phoning 119 or visiting the NHS national online booking system.