What are the quietest times at vaccination centres?

[PecanPiez]

I am clinically vulnerable with respect to Covid (I catch things very easily, and anything I catch hits me very hard). For medical reasons that I won't go into, I have not yet been vaccinated, but now I'm ready to book in for a vaccine.

A friend of mine said that the time they felt most at risk was when they were going for their second vaccine - they said there were lots of people and not much air flow. Because of this, I want to go to the vaccination centre at a time when it's most likely to be quiet.

119 could not tell me what times those might be, and when I rang the centre itself they had a recorded message saying they can't answer any questions by phone.

So if anyone could let me know what times tend to be quietest that would be wonderful! It would be particularly good if possible to hear from someone who works in a vaccination centre.

I have been at a walk in on Saturday afternoon and it was completely empty. Not a soul in sight

Interesting and surprising! I was wondering whether weekdays might be quietest!

Best to say which centre you are considering. The one I volunteer at nhas been very very empty recently.

My friends who volunteer say late in the evening is usually really empty.

I went at 15:30 on Friday. There were only 3 people getting vaccinated whilst I was there. In fact we were vastly outnumbered by the staff.

I would have said 19:50 on Sunday night before the football!!!

DH went 2 weeks ago on a friday evening (about 18:30) to a drop in one- no appointment needed. He was the only one in a massive hall! That place was open 08:00- 20:00hrs. Are there any drop in places near you? Get a friend to go ahead, checking how busy it is. If its quiet, they can come and get you.

I went to a walk in on Sunday morning. They opened at 9am, I got there around 9.30am and there was only me and around 3 others getting jabs.

I went Saturday afternoon 3.30 and only 4 other people there during the 15 minutes spent there. I actually drove past an open air vaccination site too, must only run when not raining.

I went for my second one on Saturday afternoon and it was very quiet. The staff were shocked the clinic hadn't been cancelled. They had walk ins as well.

This was Alderley if you are anywhere near.

I went at 7.15pm, last appointment time available was 7.25pm

There was one person in front of me. It was a Sunday

Thank you for the replies. I’m thinking of going to the Brighton Centre, which is open every day from 8am till 5pm (I assume it’s open till 5, as the latest slot that can be booked is 4pm).

I went at 1:30 (in London) and it was very quiet. Just past the lunch time rush. I would guess at an 8-5 place you’d be best to target those sort of in-between times (10:30-11:30, 2-3) but it’s very hard to predict.

I think its really hard to advise. I volunteer and it's really varied by age group, the weather, when sport is on.....
I would personally recommend last thing
Can someone to the centre with you and ask? If it's quiet at that point you're sorted, if not you've got advice for another day
Best wishes OP

I was there and it was towards end of the day and super empty…my 17.5yo asked if they had a spare dose, as we’re going to visit the grandpa (who is stubbornly refusing to vaccinate!) and we were still turned away…I was so hopeful…:-(

I am anxious about this so booked for first thing on a Sunday morning and it was pretty quiet. When you book online you should get a choice of vaccination centre. I chose a pharmacy and a church hall rather than a big centre. The church hall was better from a risk point of view as the doors were open and I sat right by the open double door. I felt pretty safe.

Can you choose a venue that's large and spacious? The one I went to has very high ceilings and felt very safe for air flow as the space is large in general.

I don't know if other places are doing this but I also noticed a change from my first appointment to the second - second time they had moved most of the waiting outdoors so there was a long queue around the building but then once you got in, it was all very quick moving from one place to the next (checking in, medical check, vaccination, 15 minute observation, check out).

I have medical issues which meant I needed to be seen quickly. I let them know on arrival and they arranged for me to get mine straight away (so queue jumping basically). I also could've waited outside if I wanted to rather than in the hall. The volunteers were all really helpful.

Ours is dead in the morning busiest from 5-8 (after work).

I would look on the council or local CCG website to see if they have their own helpline ( not 119). If so, contact them and discuss your needs. They should be able to place you with a service that caters for your need, which isn’t unique and can be catered for.

Otherwise contact the CCG (they should have a contact point for vaxs). They will arrange it.

Thank you very much for the replies. I had my jab this morning and it was pretty quiet, so that was a relief!

Glad to hear it, now take it easy, probably the hardest part is done!