Further walk-in vaccinations will be available at vaccination centres in Cork over the next week, as the last phase vaccination roll-out in the city and county continues.

Anyone eligible for a Pfizer BioNtech vaccine can receive a first or second dose without an appointment at City Hall on Saturday (August 28^th) and Sunday (August 29^th) between 1pm and 4pm.

This will be the fourth weekend when walk-in vaccinations have been made available in Cork city.

Next week, walk-in vaccinations will be available at Clonakilty and Bantry on the following days:

• Monday August 30^th, at Clonakilty vaccination centre only, from 9.15am to 3.30pm.
• Wednesday September 1^st  , at Bantry vaccination centre only, from 9.15am to 3.30pm.
• Saturday September 4^th, at both centres, from 9.15am to 3.30pm.
• Sunday September 5^th, at both centres, from 9.15am to 3.30pm.

Additional locations or times may be added at a later stage.

The walk-in vaccination clinics will be open to any eligible person aged 12 or over. Anyone aged between 12 and 15 years must be accompanied by an adult, and will need the consent of a parent or guardian before vaccination.

Those attending for either a first or second dose should check hse.ie to make sure they are eligible and that they bring all necessary documentation eg those hoping to receive a second dose should bring proof of their first dose vaccination (eg their vaccination card) and photo ID.

For anyone waiting for a second dose, it does not matter where you received your first dose – in other words, if you received your first dose with your GP, in a pharmacy or another vaccination centre, you can still attend.

Sinead Horgan, vaccination project lead with the South South West Hospital Group, said that there has been an enthusiastic reception from Cork people so far to the walk-in clinics:

With the majority of the population now either fully or partially vaccinated, we are pleased to be in a position to make it as easy as possible for people to get their first and second doses. We hope that these clinics will encourage anyone still considering getting their vaccine to come along, walk-in and get their vaccine in a safe setting, with a warm welcome from our friendly staff.

Peggy Horan, vaccination project lead with Cork Kerry Community Healthcare, said the team at all vaccination centres are looking forward to welcoming people to the walk-in clinics, and will be available to give any reassurance needed about the vaccination process.

Meanwhile, the vaccination centre at MTU Cork is now closed (as of close of business on Tuesday August 24^th).

The centre has been used over the last six months for a variety of purposes, including vaccinations by GPs at the beginning of the roll-out; for other vaccination programme (eg the vaccination of school children) and more recently as a community vaccination centre. It was also used as part of the HSE response to the May cyber-attack.

Gerry O’Dwyer, CEO of the South/South West Hospital Group, thanked the many people who have worked so hard on the centre since Spring. The first vaccinations were delivered at the centre in late February, when GPs administered vaccines to their own patients in the over-85 age-group.

We’d like to thank everyone who has worked so hard in this centre. That includes the teams who set the centre up; security; IT; the Defence Forces; porters; administration staff; vaccinators; GPs and pharmacists. It has been an incredibly successful centre, and it allowed us to increase capacity for the general roll-out at a time when it was needed, he said.

There is now sufficient capacity in the other two vaccination centres in Cork city, at City Hall and Pairc Ui Chaoimh, to meet the demand for appointments. Anyone who received their first dose at MTU will be given an appointment for their second dose at another centre.

We sincerely thank Munster Technological University for their support. This has been a really valuable addition to our network of vaccination centres across the region,” Mr O’Dwyer added.

Notes :

* This page on hse.ie has the most up-to-date information on what someone should bring to a walk-in centre in order to receive either a first or second dose.

* The vaccination programme across Cork and Kerry is run in partnership by the South/South West Hospital Group and Cork Kerry Commuity Healthcare.

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