London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Sep 28, 2025

Coronavirus: Walk-in Covid vaccine clinics open in 'final push'

Coronavirus: Walk-in Covid vaccine clinics open in 'final push'

Appointment-free vaccine clinics have been operating in Northern Ireland today in a "final push" to get younger people vaccinated against Covid-19.

About 50% of those aged 18 and over and two-thirds of 30 to 40-year-olds have had a first dose.

About 95% of all those aged over 50 have had a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Overall, about 60% of adults in Northern Ireland are fully vaccinated with two doses.


Bernie Owens, from Belfast Trust, said: "We are coming to the end of the vaccination programme, we are so close.

"So we are trying to do this final push to get the 18 to 29-year-olds, and the 30 to 40-year-olds who've been later being offered the vaccination appointments, to come forward now and we're trying to make it as accessible for them as is possible," the senior director continued.

In Belfast, a walk-in unit operated in the grounds of City Hall until 20:00 BST, offering Pfizer to anyone unvaccinated aged over-18.

Drop-in clinics were also open in parts of County Down, including at the Quays shopping centre in Newry.

In Castlewellan on Saturday and Newcastle on Sunday, vaccine 'buses' will be offering Moderna vaccines.

Walk-in locations


Saturday:

*  Castlewellan Community Centre 11:00-19:00
*  Belfast City Hall 14:30-20:00
*  The Quays, Newry 09:30-15:30

Sunday:


*  Newcastle Community Services, Newcastle 11:00-19:00

Doses of the Pfizer jab will be administered in Newry and Belfast, Moderna will be issued in Castlewellan and Newcastle.

No appointment is needed, however those attending must bring photo ID.


District nurse Suzanne Rogan, who will be on board to administer the vaccines, said people need to bring photographic ID and, where possible, their health and social care number.

"They will be in and out within minutes," she added.

Walk-in slots for second doses are also being offered at the South Eastern Vaccination Centre at the SSE Arena in Belfast.

Anyone who has had a Pfizer vaccine six weeks ago or an AstraZeneca vaccine eight weeks ago is eligible. Second doses cannot be administered at a shorter time interval.

'Potential for another wave'


There has been a sharp rise in the number of positive Covid cases in Northern Ireland compared to a week ago.

However, the number of hospitalisations has not increased significantly: more than 20 patients are currently being treated for the virus, and there is one person on ventilation in an intensive care unit.

Health officials are also investigating large social gatherings involving young people, as Stormont's chief scientific adviser Prof Ian Young warned of the potential for another Covid wave.

Earlier this week, executive ministers were told that the highly transmissible Delta variant, first detected in India, now accounts for 75% of Covid infections and that there has been a slight increase in the R number (the rate of transmission) from between 1.2 and 1.5 to between 1.2 and 1.6.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
Corrupt UK Politician Ed Davey Demands Elon Musk’s Arrest for Supporting Democracy
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Alibaba Debuts Open-Source Deep Research Agent with Benchmarks Rivaling OpenAI
Marcos Faces Legacy-Defining Crisis as Flood Projects Scandal Sparks Massive Tide of Protests
China’s Micro-Drama Boom Turns Stalled Real Estate Projects into Lavish Film Sets
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
'Company Got 5,189 H-1B Visas, Then Laid Off 16,000 Americans': US Defends New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Golf legend tells Omar she should be 'sent back to Somalia' after her Kirk comments
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
×