Urgent second dose vaccine appointments issued for mass vaccination centres

Second dose Oxford AstraZeneca appointments for mass vaccination centres across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire have been urgently issued for week beginning 24 May, Hywel Dda University Health Board has confirmed. 

The health board has identified a technical issue that has caused a delay in appointment letters being issued to people who received their first Oxford AstraZeneca at a mass vaccination centre between Monday 8th March and Sunday 14 March.  

This issue has now been rectified and the health board has urgently posted appointment letters to everyone affected. SMS (text messages) have also been sent to those the health board has mobile numbers for. 

The technical issue has also resulted in some people who had a first vaccine at a GP practice receiving an appointment inviting them to attend a mass vaccination centre. If you received your first vaccine at a GP practice you must attend your GP practice for your second dose to ensure the correct vaccine is available for you.  

If you have received an invite to attend a mass vaccination centre in error, there is no need to contact the health board as these appointments have automatically been cancelled. Please disregard the mass vaccination centre invite and keep your appointment with your GP or wait for them to contact you with your appointment time if you have not already received one.

Bethan Lewis, Interim Assistant Director of Public Health at Hywel Dda UHB, said: “As soon as we identified there had been a delay with second vaccine appointments being issued to people who had their first Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine at a mass vaccination centre between Monday 8th March and Sunday 14 March we immediately reissued all letters and sent SMS text messages wherever possible. 

“These appointments are due to start Monday 24 May so it is possible some people may receive their appointment letter late and we apologise for this but please don’t worry if this happens to you.  

“If you receive your letter and the appointment has past, please contact our booking team on 0300 303 8322 so we can book you a new appointment. We will make sure you have your second appointment on schedule. Please wait to receive your letter before phoning us. We thank you for your understanding and patience.”