No plans to reopen Grantham leisure centre for "this phase of vaccination programme"

There are no plans to reopen The Meres leisure centre in Grantham for Covid vaccinations in this phase of the programme, it has been confirmed.

The table tennis centre at The Meres had been the venue for Covid vaccinations and boosters since December 2020.

A spokesperson for NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) said there are "currently no plans for it to re-open in this phase of the vaccination programme" after vaccinations stopped at the end of last year.

The centre marked its 300,000th vaccination in September last year.

An ICB spokesperson said: "There are various sites across Lincolnshire and neighbouring counties providing pre-bookable appointments via the National Booking System, including our vaccination centre, the Weighing Rooms at the Grandstand, Carholme Road, Lincoln.

"In addition, walk-in sessions are available in certain venues, including the Weighing Rooms, for anyone eligible i.e. over 50, a front line worker or in the At Risk category.

"We are also running a number of outreach vaccination sessions over the next few weeks. Details can be found on the NHS Lincolnshire ICB grab a jab page here."

The Journal has asked the ICB to explain why The Meres is not hosting vaccinations at this time.

A number of readers have said they are unhappy because they have had to travel long distances to Lincoln or Boston and into Nottinghamshire for their jabs.

Gary Rudd said he had to travel to Lincoln to a walk-in centre to get a booster jab. He drove a 46-mile round trip to the Lincoln Carholme Weighing Rooms "in order to perform my civic duty".

Mr Rudd added: "I wonder how exactly this squares with making it all but impossible for many Grantham residents to obtain a Covid-19 vaccination where one is unable to make the journey I had to today, particularly at a time of increasing vulnerability when the world’s most populous nation has just announced an end to lockdown and where no travelling restrictions, or public health precautions, are in place."