Reading’s large-scale vaccination programme will be moving to a new venue in the town.

Covid-19 vaccinations will switch from the Madejski Stadium to Unit 49-50 at the Broad Street Mall in Reading.

The last vaccinations at the Madejski will be on July 23 and operations will resume at the new venue at the end of the month.

The move has been organised by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust to secure a longer term and accessible venue for vaccinations for the Berkshire West population, in anticipation of a return to larger match attendances at the home of Reading FC.

Vaccinations do not take place at the Madejski on match days, limiting appointment availability.

At the new Broad Street Mall venue, appointments will be available seven days a week, from 8.30am to 7.30pm.

July 24-29 vaccinations rescheduled

Anyone who is scheduled to receive their important second vaccination at the Madejski between July 24 and 29 will have their appointment brought forward. Oxford Health teams have been contacting patients directly, using contact details they provided at the time of their original booking, to provide an earlier appointment opportunity.

Bookings from July 30

Anyone booked in from July 30 onwards at the Madejski will be rescheduled to attend the Broad Street Mall. Again, patients will be advised of the change if contact details were provided. In the event we are unable to contact all  patients, there will be prominent displays at the Madejski signposting patients to the new venue, a 10 minute drive or bus ride away.

Getting your vital 2^nd dose

People who have already received their first vaccine are strongly encouraged to have a second dose to maximise protection again the virus, particularly the Delta variant. This can be done eight weeks after your first dose.

Both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines are highly effective against the Delta variant after two doses, a study from Public Health England has found.

Who can get a Covid vaccination?

Vaccinations are open to all adults over 18. People can book COVID-19 vaccination appointments online or by calling 119. You will be shown the nearest available appointment to you, which could be a vaccination centre or a pharmacy. Pop up clinics are also being planned.

Which vaccine will I have?

You will only be offered a specific vaccine if you’re either:

• pregnant
• aged under 40 and do not have a health condition that increases your risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19

If this applies to you, you’ll only be shown appointments for the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine when you book.

Madejski success

To date more than 166,000 first and second doses have been given at the Madejski Stadium.

Royals fan Michael Hinton, 69, was the first person to receive a vaccination there on February 22.  Two months ago, the venue was selected to be one of the first in England to administer the Moderna vaccine.

Oxford Health Covid Operations Director Tehmeena Ajmal said: “We would like to thank Reading Football Club for enabling us to host one of our three large scale vaccination centres at the Madejski and help us drive up vaccination coverage in the Berkshire West area, as part of the biggest vaccination programme in NHS history.

“The Madejski vaccination centre has been a huge success. Countless lives have been saved and I am very proud of everyone in the Oxford Health family and our partners in the health, local authority and third sector who have played a part in the roll out of vaccinations.

“Their commitment and dedication have been unwavering. We will continue to offer our vaccination service until we can help everyone who wants to give themselves and their loved ones the best protection possible against Covid.”