New covid-19 booster centre opens on Wrexham Technology Park

Covid-19 boosters will no longer be offered at the Wrexham University campus thanks to the opening of a new vaccination centre.

The Catrin Finch Centre was repurposed as a mass vaccination site in January 2021 as the nationwide covid-19 vaccination campaign ramped up.

193,176 Covid-19 vaccines and booster vaccines have been given at the repurposed meetings, conferences and events venue.

It held its final vaccination clinic just before Easter.

Covid vaccines will now be delivered at a dedicated vaccination clinic will open at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board’s Plas Gororau building on Wrexham Technology Park.

From Monday onwards, all appointments for COVID-19 booster vaccinations in Wrexham will take place at the new facility – which also provides outpatient healthcare services which can be delivered outside of an acute hospital environment.

Betsi Cadwaladr chief executive Carol Shillabeer said the vaccination programme in North Wales had been “a phenomenal undertaking” – thanks, in part, to the support of partners like the university.

“High levels of vaccination against COVID-19 have helped to reduce incidence of severe illness, reduce hospital admissions, and protect both the people of North Wales and the NHS services they have relied upon during the pandemic,” Carol said.

“This programme could only have been so successful with the support of our many partners, including Wrexham University.

“As our principal vaccination centre for Wrexham, the Catrin Finch Centre has welcomed tens of thousands of local residents of all ages.

“We thank our colleagues at the university for their patience, professionalism and commitment, which have helped us offer the best possible protection and service to the people of North Wales.”

Vice-Chancellor Professor Maria Hinfelaar said she was proud that Wrexham University had been able to serve the wider community by playing a valuable role in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is impressive to see how many tens of thousands of people have been through the doors of the Catrin Finch vaccination centre, and how the centre has contributed to vaccination take-up levels in our area,” she said.

The university also hosted a mass vaccination centre for North Denbighshire and the surrounding area at the OpTIC Technology Centre in St Asaph between September 2021 and February 2023.

A total of 87,526 vaccines were given at the OpTIC, which has also served as a hub for staff working on the vaccination programme.

Appointments for Spring booster vaccines for eligible groups begin next week (April 15) and will be offered throughout May and June.

People invited for the first vaccinations at the new centre will already have received letters with the date and time of their appointments. Further rounds of invitations will be issued in priority order over the coming weeks.

You can check your eligibility for the covid-19 Spring booster and find more detail about the vaccine at the health board’s website.