This weekend, NHS Rotherham Clinical Commissioning Group will be hosting COVID-19 vaccine walk-in sessions at some of the Rotherham vaccination sites as part of the Grab a Jab weekend. 

Adults who have not already had their first dose of the vaccination are being invited to attend with no need to book an appointment.   

As long as you are 18 years old or older, live in Rotherham and haven’t had your first dose vaccination, you can go to one of the two sites below to get your vaccination and help protect yourself and those around you from the virus: 

The rate of cases of COVID in Rotherham is now rising more quickly and is currently at 59.5 per 100,000 with 158 new cases, up from 93 cases in the borough in the last week. Rotherham remains below the England average rate of 101.5 per 100,000 which is also rising quickly.  

Like elsewhere in the country, most cases locally are now the Delta variant which is more transmissible. Now that the rate of cases is higher and rising, it is even more important to remember that COVID is still here and the usual measures of social distancing, meeting outside, and ventilation and mask wearing indoors, all remain important. Cases are mainly in older children and young adults who are not vaccinated.

National, regional and local COVID data is available from the Government website.

To prevent the continued rise in cases and spread of cases into older age groups where harm is more likely, it is really important all adults take up their offer of the vaccine and complete both doses.

Anyone aged 18 or over can now book a local appointment to get vaccinated by calling the local booking line on 0300 3035258.  

10,000 tests at Riverside site

Staff from the Riverside Lateral Flow Test site are saying a big thank you to everyone who has used the test site or any of the other satellite sites.  

The site will be closing next week, so Lateral Flow Test Site officer, Lucy Corker, recaps what has happened over the past few months.

With one in three people testing positive for Covid without any symptoms, people are encouraged to take regular tests.

If you don’t have symptoms you should use a rapid lateral flow test. You should use these tests if you are visiting someone who receives care/support, for education or childcare, for access to some events, as part of your job or as part of routine home testing.

Results are processed by a test device in 30 mins and you should report your result online, whatever it is. If you get a positive result you need to have a PCR test (see below) to confirm.

These tests are available free from a variety of locations, including ordering online, or from local libraries and pharmacies 

If you have symptoms you will need to self-isolate and arrange to get a PCR Test. PCR tests are processed by a lab and you will get the result in 3 days (although most results are returned the next day. You can get a PCR test online or at a local test site.

From 21 June, restrictions were removed on the maximum number of people allowed to attend:

You could get a £10,000 fine for organising a gathering of more than 50 people outdoors or 30 people indoors, if you do not consider the risks, conduct a risk assessment and take action to minimise the risk.  

Further information and guidance is available at GOV.UK 

Larger events

Larger events are judged on a case by case basis and are subject to comprehensive COVID-19 Risk assessments by organisers.

Further information is available on the GOV.UK website.

These requirements have been put in place nationally by the UK Government.

To mark the occasion, the Armed Forces Day flag will be raised above the Town Hall by the Mayor, Cllr Jenny Andrews, accompanied by Rotherham military veteran Mr Ron Moffett MBE, to show appreciation for all serving personnel and ex-servicemen and women.  

Cllr Andrews said: “It is an important day, acknowledging men and women across the services, those who have served or are serving today and members who are also supporting the country through the pandemic.   

“Unfortunately, it is too early for the Council to organise such a large-scale public event given the current uncertainties around the pandemic.  Rotherham Town Hall also remains closed so please accept our apologies and hopefully next year’s event will be bigger and better than ever before.”