Extra vaccine meant more jabs could be given at Arena

SCORES of people were surprised to be offered Covid-19 jabs at Derby Arena on Sunday after an extra batch of vaccine became available.

Derby and Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group (DDCCG) said that as soon as the offer of extra vaccine became known, NHS staff began contacting eligible patients.

The spokesman said: “We received an excellent response and were able carry out vaccinations on Sunday.

“This was possible thanks to the determination of our team in securing the extra vaccines, great collaboration from colleagues at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, the willingness of our team to spend Saturday contacting patients and then staff at the Derby Arena vaccination centre to set up and run vaccinations on Sunday.

“We are working incredibly hard to vaccinate as many people as possible, and we’re delighted to have been to carry out extra vaccinations this weekend.”

People were surprised to receive calls from their GP surgeries on Saturday evening.

One 89 year-old, who did not wish to be named, said: “It’s the last thing I expected when I answered the phone at about 6pm on Saturday teatime and thought at first it might not be genuine. But I was reassured by the person on the other end and my appointment was made for Sunday afternoon - it did not give me too much time to think about it anyway.”

An exact figure of how many extra vaccinations were given on Sunday was not available.

Vaccinations were first offered at the arena on Thursday, January 6, for two and half days before supplies ran out. They resumed again last week from Wednesday from 8am to 8pm.

There is no immediate plan to offer vaccinations as routine on a Sunday or 24/7, according to a DDCCG spokesman.