Opening hours for all large-scale vaccination centres across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are to be extended.

From Monday (September 6) they will be open 8.30 am to 4.00 pm, seven days a week.

Mike Passfield of Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust said it was to ensure “as many people as possible can grab a jab”.

Most sites will also open one day a week through to 7.30 pm “so there are even more opportunities for people who have not had their jab yet to do so”.

He said: “Everyone aged 16 and over is eligible to be vaccinated.

“Getting your vaccine is the best way to protect yourself, your friends and your family while enabling you to get back to doing the things you love. So please don’t wait – come along to any of our daily walk-in clinics to get your jab.”

Dr Gary Howsam, chair of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “Getting the vaccine is the single most important step we can take to protect ourselves and those we care about.

“We’re making it as easy as possible for people to get their jab.

“You can simply drop by any of our walk-in venues without an appointment to get your vaccine, or you can still choose to book via the National Booking System if you prefer to get some dates in the diary.

“Make the decision today to get your vaccine and let’s get back to normal together.”

The local NHS has now delivered well over a million doses of the Covid-19 vaccination (1,255,896 up to August 29) across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Over 79 per cent of young people aged 18-24 in our area have already had their first dose of the vaccine, alongside more than 10,000 16- and 17-year-olds.

He said the figure equates to 47 per cent of those eligible “and the highest number across the eastern region in this age group”.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough include:

· Horsefair Shopping Centre, Wisbech, Cambs PE13 1AR (and open 8.30 am to 7.30 pm on Mondays)

· The Eatons Community Centre, Eaton Socon, St Neots PE19 8ES (and open 8.30 am to 7.30 pm on Tuesdays)

· The Grafton Centre, Cambridge CB1 1PS (and open 8.30 am to 7.30 pm on Wednesdays)

· The Oaktree Centre, 1 Oak Drive, Huntingdon PE29 7HN (and open 8.30 am to 7.30 pm on Thursdays)

· East of England Showground, Peterborough PE2 6XE (and open 8.30 am to 7.30 pm on Thursdays)

· Cherry Hinton Village Leisure Centre, Colville Road, Cambridge CB1 9EJ (and open 8.30 am to 7.30 pm every Wednesday in September. The Cherry Hinton site will close on 3 October 2021 as planned).

· Chesterton Indoor Bowls Centre, Logan’s Way, Chesterton, Cambridge CB4 1BL

· City Care Centre, Thorpe Road, Peterborough PE3 6DB (and open 8.30 am to 7.30 pm on Tuesdays)

· The Grafton Centre, Cambridge CB1 1PS (and open 8.30 am to 7.30 pm on Wednesdays)