UPDATE: as a result of Storm Eunice, all vaccination centres and pop up clinics in the local area will close on Friday, February 18. It is hoped the centre will be open the following day. Please follow Wokingham Borough Council's Facebook and Twitter pages for updates. 

Wokingham is finally getting a walk-in coronavirus vaccination centre – but it will only be open on Fridays and the weekend.

The walk-in centre, which will be located at Wokingham Library in Denmark Street, will open this Friday (February 18).

The vaccination site will be open from 2pm to 7pm on Fridays and 11am to 4.45pm on Saturdays and Sundays, with no appointment necessary.

The centre will come under review after least six weeks.

Until now, people in Wokingham could only get vaccinations by appointment, or on demand when temporary mobile vaccination buses attend their area.

Other than that, people could only get on demand vaccinations at a mass vaccination site in Broad Street Mall, Reading.

It comes after councillor Charles Margetts, who lives in Finchampstead, complained that it took his son ‘around to two three hours’ to get vaccinated after he was given an appointment at Boots in Broad Street, Reading.

READ MORE: Call for dedicated vaccination site in Wokingham amid rising cases

Celebrating the coming of the walk-in centre, cllr Margetts  (Conservative, Finchampstead North), the borough council’s executive member for health, said: “One of the cornerstones of moving forward and living with endemic Covid is vaccination.

“While the uptake rate is good in the borough, there are still many people who are yet to take up the offer, and we have often felt it would be significantly improved by the provision of more local vaccination centres.

“We have campaigned for months for a standalone vaccination centre in the borough and are pleased that the CCG has agreed to our request.

“We would encourage all residents to take advantage of this local facility and get vaccinated, and we look forward to welcoming residents in for their jabs.”

The announcement of the walk-in vaccination centre comes as Wokingham saw its highest ever number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in January.

In one day, 510 cases were recorded, on Wednesday, January 5.

Case numbers have begun to drop this month, with the number of new cases dropping below 100 -to 99- on Monday, February 14, for the first day since November.

The council has stressed that people coming forward for jabs will not be questioned about why they haven’t had it yet.

Those who have questions can approach health professionals at the Library or email the council’s vaccine support team at covid.info@wokingham.gov.uk.

READ MORE: Covid vaccines for children aged 5 to 11: What parents need to know

Cllr Margetts added: “Everyone would like to see the back of the pandemic, but it is important that we don’t lose sight of what protects us from the virus.”

“While Omicron is milder in the sense that it has so far resulted in a lower hospitalisation and death rate than prior variants, it can still make you very sick and it is highly transmissible.

“The vaccine is what helps make this sickness less serious, reduce transmission and it is still strongly recommended.”

The vaccine is open to anyone aged 12+, and you do not need to be registered at a GP, have an NHS number, or have indefinite leave to remain in the UK to obtain a vaccine.

People who tested positive in December and were unable to get a booster can now obtain it (28 days to four weeks after you tested positive).

Children aged 12+ can also receive the vaccine, as long as they have waited 12 weeks from the date of a positive PCR test if they were recently infected.

According to figures from the start of this week, 87.8 per cent of people aged 12+ have had a first dose of a covid-19 vaccine, 83.7 per cent have had a second dose and 68.4 per cent of people have had a third or booster dose.