People aged over 80 in Hadleigh and the surrounding villages will be able to start receiving the Covid-19 vaccination as from mid-January.

Hadleigh Health Centre will be one of two hubs locally offering the vaccine, but have asked patients not to contact them to make appointments, as they will contact those eligible directly.

Patients in Bildeston, Boxford and Hadleigh will receive the vaccine, starting with the over-80s, NHS workers, health workers and those in care homes.

A spokesperson for the health centre said: "We would like to inform our patients that Bildeston will be undertaking the Covid vaccination programme starting mid-January.

"The service will run collaboratively with our two local practices, Constable Country Practice at East Bergholt and Hadleigh Health Centre.

The two hubs will be Hadleigh and East Bergholt.

"We will not be writing to patients to invite them due to the short notice required to deliver the programme, instead we will call our patients from the surgery by telephone to invite you to attend either the Hadleigh or East Bergholt site.

"This may change as we move through the cohorts. Please can we request that you do not call us, we will call you.

"Patients will be invited following the strict criteria we have to follow. The first cohort will be patients aged 80 and over. We cannot vaccinate you earlier outside your cohort.

"We need your help to communicate this information to relatives, friends and neighbours in this cohort who do not have access to social media, by letting them know that we will be calling them in early January.

"Please be patient with us, the role out of the Covid vaccination programme requires a lot of planning in order for us all to deliver safely and efficiently while we continue to deliver our normal service."

Government health experts insist the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine is safe and effective. It gives you the best protection against coronavirus.

The NHS is currently offering the COVID-19 vaccine to people most at risk from coronavirus.

The vaccine is being offered in some hospitals and hundreds of local vaccination centres run by GPs.

The vaccine will be offered more widely, and at other locations, as soon as possible.

The order in which people will be offered the vaccine is based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

For more information go to the [L]https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/coronavirus-vaccine/[L+]NHS website[L+]