WINNING AT Life
Thousands a week to get Covid vaccinations as city ‘super-site’ opens doors
THE mass vaccination centre that will mark a huge “gear change” in the number of people who can get the Covid-19 jab has opened in Newcastle.
The Centre for Life has been transformed into one of England’s seven “super sites,” and will be vaccinating thousands of people a week when it is at full capacity.
After preparations over the weekend, the city centre site officially opened its doors to over-80s and key workers with pre-booked appointments yesterday morning.
The first person to receive the jab at the venue was 81-year-old greatgrandfather Nana Kwabena Edusei – a former chief from Ghana who moved to the UK 55 years ago and lives in Heaton.
The retired manager with Associated British Foods said he had been “looking forward” to the appointment.
He added: “It was not a problem at all. They asked me a few questions about my health, I signed a form, everything went smoothly.
“I would say to everybody to go and have the jab.”
Another early patient was 80-year-old Jimmy Charlton, who said when the world returns to normal he is looking forward to “sitting down to mince and dumplings” with his son Michael – who was also vaccinated. Michael is a healthcare worker, so father and son were able to receive the jab on the same morning.
Retired factory worker Jimmy, from Blakelaw, said it was a “complete relief” to be vaccinated, and that he had no nerves about attending the appointment, saying, “The NHS are fantastic.” He added that the service at the centre was “brilliant”.
Nurses, doctors, pharmacists and other NHS staff working nearby are being vaccinated along with social
care and care home workers.
Several staff members from St Oswald’s Hospice had appointments on Monday, including 60-year-old Lynne Bell.
Lynne said: “I’m over the moon to get the vaccine, I feel really grateful to be chosen to get it. I have complete trust in it.”
She added that the past year “has been very challenging, but everybody’s pulled together as a team”.
Fellow St Oswald’s worker Brenda Clayton, from Whitley Bay, said: “It’s just amazing. I felt very privileged to be given the chance.
“I think I’m still going to be very cautious but the thing it has given me is hope, that there is light at the end of a very long tunnel – it gives you a chance to plan.”
On her plans when more restrictions are lifted, Brenda said: “All my grandchildren live abroad so I would really like to go and see them all –
I haven’t seen them for over a year.” Professor Neil Watson of Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is running the Covid Vaccination Programme in the North East and North Cumbria.
He said the opening of the new site was the “next step” in the programme.
Prof Watson said: “It’s a gear change to get much more volume in the system in the coming weeks and months.
“The vaccination centres are an important part of the next phase of rolling out the vaccination programme more widely.
“We are working closely with primary care who are doing an amazing job vaccinating their most vulnerable patients and making sure care home residents and staff get their vaccinations too.
“And now we have Oxford AstraZeneca, GPs are able to take vaccines to our housebound patients too.
“Our focus is on the top priority cohorts and we are all inspired by the potential of saving thousands of lives and knowing this gives many of us hope for the future.”
The centre, which will be staffed by a mixture of NHS staff and volunteers, will add to 775 GP-led centres and 207 hospital sites where vaccines can be delivered.
The other six super centres are in Stevenage, London, Manchester, Surrey, Bristol and Birmingham.
Letters inviting the over-80s to attend mass vaccination centres have started to land on doormats, NHS England has said.
The first 130,000 invitations asking the elderly to sign up for a jab at the sites were due to arrive over the weekend, with more than 500,000 to follow over the next seven days.
‘GEAR CHANGE’ IN COVID-19 JAB ROLLOUT AS MASS VACCINATION SITE OPENS AT NEWCASTLE CENTRE FOR LIFE