Have you had to travel for your vaccination?

I had my vaccine in our public hall where 3 of our gp surgeries had set up a hub, but I wasn't able to book a 2nd jab date which I understand is common to a lot of GP hubs. I drove my husband 14 miles to a large centre because our hall appears to only have enough vaccine to work once a week and we got fed up with waiting for his call. The large centre gave him a date for his 2nd at the same time. I have now booked my 2nd on line at this large centre so now I have the certainty of a date. Most of my friends are also travelling to be vaccinated, so we are probably driving to one of the places that our town vaccine has been diverted to.
If you have a local place doing the jabs I do think we should be prepared to travel to get the vaccine and save the local appointments for those who can't.

We walked to our village hall ten mins away but our friends who live around the corner had to travel four miles away. I don't think it's acceptable having to travel considering we are supposed to stay local.

My husband and I travelled about 20 miles for ours. Cant understand why anyone would object to this.

I had mine in January at the church next door to my surgery - within walking distance.

I'm in the North Tyneside area of the N East and there doesn't appear to be any issues locally.
The centre I visited (3 weeks ago) was in a really good location with car parking and decent public transport links.
All well organised with dates given for the 2nd dose then.

A friend in the Scottish borders is really struggling though, they don't drive and the nearest involves a trip of around 50 miles (return), public transport isn't great either.

Had mine via nhs website booking system smack bang in the city centre about 20 miles away. In normal times I would not have driven there as it is so busy but parking easy and little traffic as everything shut. Arrived early, went in early and out within 30 minutes. Astra Zeneca. I have been given my second appointment date and booked at the same place. I noticed the local buses were advertising special services to the centre to aid city dwellers.

The surgery organised my husband’s jab at the local racecourse - much closer and easier to get to and he has his second appointment too at the same place. All very different nationally as my SIL just walked 300 yards to her local surgery but doesn’t have a second appointment booked. Another SIL lives in a sheltered housing complex and shared a taxi with 3 others to travel 10 miles to the next big town for hers.

I could understand the need to travel to a hub when vaccine storage was problematic but now I don’t see a why they cant set up in more local community centres and sweep up all the local unvaccinated like Mrs Eggy describes.

I'm 69. Had mine on 10 Feb. My GPs rang me and said they'd made an appointment for me at the local racecourse 3 miles away. They offered transport, if required (I didn't). All very well organised and jolly at the racecourse. GP will contact me again for 2nd. jab. Very happy!

We have 2 hubs near us. One just down the road at the showground and the other a little further away at the next town’s racecourse. When I went online neither of them were offered and I had to go to Leeds to an hotel where a pharmacy group had set up a centre. I was a bit worried because I don’t like driving somewhere in the city, but I found it ok using my satnav and they were very well organised with good parking.

Yes, the far North East seem to be getting very few vaccine deliveries, and when they do it will be prioritising the second one for the over 80s. That is putting pressure on the hubs further south, so people are struggling to get appointments since it was opened up to 60-64, and subsequently younger. We happily travelled to the city for ours, with designated free parking, but that was over a week ago, and people are reporting difficulties in booking now. I think it is ok to be expected to travel if you are young and fit enough. Public transport should be safe in most regions too, as there is never anyone on it.

There seems to be an assumption by the people organising the immunisations that everyone has access to a car. I am extremely fortunate that a chemist 45 mins. walk away from my house was offering jabs as I dont know what I would have done otherwise. I wonder how many other people are in this position and arn't as lucky as me.

My GPs surgery sent a text advising that they were not involved in giving the vaccine and not to contact them but to wait for the letter from the NHS and to book online. When my letter arrived I couldn't get anything locally although we have 3 large vaccination centres nearby. I was offered 2 options both a fair distance away - eventually after logging onto the website several times I was able to book a place at a Nightingale hospital about 10 miles away which I felt was a reasonable distance and I was very happy to travel there. Ironically, DH got his letter 2 weeks ago, logged onto the website, and got a local entre straight away.

Local GP did mine 4 weeks ago - I am 68. (North Warwickshire), though I know Tamworth, about a mile up the road is about 3 weeks behind this. I t varies from area to area.

I had mine at a GP clinic, Mr.B has his at a hub. Fortunately we live near the hub so only short journeys for both.

I had the same options, and am same age, as Willow500 and chose the earlier centre on the other side of town. As I’m shielding my normal tram journey wasn’t an option so I was going to use a taxi but then read on our neighbour forum that our local Community Transport were offering free return transport. Appointment date arrived and due to snow and ice the minibus couldn’t get up the hill. Undeterred the driver collected me from the door and arm in arm we set off. He was so busy keeping me from falling that he came a cropper. He dutifully escorted me back home safely 40 minutes later. My first outing for ages-got the vaccine and cosseted by quite a handsome young man

No- luckily it was just in the town about 3 mins drive. DH had his at his doctors when he went in for a repeat Prescription as he is diabetic . He would have had a wait otherwise as he is in his 50s.

I got a text saying I was eligible and went online.

The first few offers were all miles away but I just kept trying and got one at my local chemist

So Saturday at 8am (why I agreed that time I'll never know) I shall be jabbed

Willow500 67 is not old. 30 miles isn’t a huge distance. I am 67 with bone and various other cancers, I had to travel 20 miles for my jab, it was a lovely few hours out having spent the best part of a year shielding.

I'm having mine today and also travelling about 30 miles.
I booked online and my nearest options of 10 miles away were unavailable due to having to play catch up as they ran out of vaccine.
The other options were either in places further away or in an area that I didn't know.
The venue I am going to is somewhere that I have visited multiple times. Not bothered that I am having to travel, just glad that it's my turn and it's the first step back to getting back to something that resembles normal!
Funnily enough, my GPs rang yesterday to see why I hadn't booked an appointment at my nearest town - simply because after trying for a week, I just went for the soonest!

We were lucky and live almost within walking distance from the vaccination hub, which is doing national vaccinations as well as local GPs vaccinations. My cousin had to travel 35 miles to "our" hub. Its an excuse to get out though!

The nearest I could get for the first available appointment (in two weeks) is 50 miles away. I don’t mind because I can get there and it’s a seaside town so I’ll be able to see the sea at last!! It’s late afternoon so I’m also hoping to find a fish n chip shop to have a Chippy tea!! Silver linings and all that ?
One of my colleagues is travelling 80 miles to have one this week but I hadn’t checked that far!
My GP tells me I will get an appointment locally in early April but I reckon the sooner the better.

Got my invitation last week and the nearest options were Newcastle, Durham or Ulverston. All approx 50 miles away. My local surgery is doing clinics but I know that after this week they don’t know when the next vaccine will arrive, plus they’re starting on cohort 6 and I’m cohort 7. So would be a long wait for the surgery. I opted in the end to book at a health centre close to where my parents live. 100 mile each way trip but get to see mum and dad at the same time!

They recently temporarily closed the local hubs in our area and moved all vaccinations to one central hub 25 miles from us but up to 40 miles each way for most rural people with little public transport but a local car dealer and taxi firm have organised volunteers to drive people to and from the centre if needed which is brilliant

I only went a couple of miles didn’t hear anything from my GP I just kept looking online till it let me book I chose somewhere I knew was easy parking.

I had mine a month ago, first invite was by text to go into central London. I was considering it but next day got a text to have it done locally which I booked. My son who's 32 has his booked for next week, no underlying health conditions etc.

Our GPs have a local hub at the community centre, about a mile and a half away, a long walk or short bus/car ride. It is near several bus routes which are not crowded. We are booked in for our second jab next week, 11 weeks after the first.