THE mass coronavirus vaccination site at Malvern's Three Counties Showground is expected to open within the next month, Herefordshire health chiefs have said.

The coronavirus jab programme has been underway in Herefordshire since December, with GPs currently running five clinics in the county, plus a mass site at Elgar House in Holmer Road, Hereford.

A second mass site for the county is expected to open at the Three Counties Showground just across the border in Worcestershire "within the next month".

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Speaking in a Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce webinar, specialist registrar Rebecca Pickup said:"At the moment we have thr nine priority groups, they're set nationally by Government and not locally by Government.

"They are based on reducing deaths, mortality, the people who are likely to have the worst impact of Covid."

She said uptake had been "fantastic" in Herefordshire and Worcestershire so far, adding: "We have five local vaccination centres, one in Ross-on-Wye, Ledbury, Leominster and two in Hereford. There's lots of vaccination centres to go to, and there's a regional centre planned.

"That's for the Three Counties in Malvern, but that hasn't come online yet. That's expected to come online within the next month, or something like that.

"How you would get a vaccination would be to be called up by your local doctor, or to get a letter to go to a national centre.

"That would then take you through to a link and you'd book on to your nearest national centre, and there's one in Gloucester, for example, that you could go to.

"If this comes to you then please pick one, make an appointment and do go to it."

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It comes as Portakabin says it's delighted to be involved with setting up the site in Malvern.

Including the opening of the Malvern vaccination centre, staff at the Portakabin Hire Centre in Smethwick, Birmingham, have worked together with the wider business to a create specialist building that will enable thousands more extra vaccination appointments to be made available to patients as well as health and social care staff across the region.

Portakabin chief executive Derek Carter said: “We are delighted to be part of this amazing national effort.

“We have a long history of providing vital support to healthcare providers, meeting unique requirements for safety, speed and minimal disruption. With these buildings, we have been able to deliver to stringent specifications and timescales.

"Thanks to our vast experience in primary care, we are providing a variety of buildings across the UK and continue to offer solutions when and where they are needed most.

“The national Covid vaccination centres are a critical part of the Government’s bid to ensure that 15 million of the most vulnerable people in the UK, receive their first dose by mid-February and we’re honoured to be able to help our health service meet that vital objective.”

Portakabin has also been commissioned to install modular buildings for mass vaccination “super centres” in Yorkshire, the West Midlands, the Midlands and the North East.

Hereford Times: Three Counties Showground chief executive Ken Nottage with head of shows Diana Walton Three Counties Showground chief executive Ken Nottage with head of shows Diana Walton

When the Three Counties Showground revealed it had been chosen as one of the country's mass sites, chief executive Ken Nottage said up to 2,500 people a day could be jabbed at the site.

He added: “It is an honour to have the opportunity to play such a critical part in any vaccination programme and we are pleased to be able to contribute towards fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The Three Counties Showground is a perfect venue. It has plenty of space and parking for a temporary vaccination centre and we look forward to the vaccination roll out in 2021."