Chance to get vaccinated before the Shields game
THE Covid vaccine push continues in South Shields this weekend with plans for the borough’s vaccine bus to spend tomorrow at the town’s football ground in hope of encouraging supporters to drop in for a jab before the game.
The walk-in clinic will run from 10am until 3pm and vaccinators will be offering first, second and booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine to anyone eligible over the age of 12.
The bus will be sitting next to turnstiles 1 and 2 of the 1st Cloud Arena ground.
South Shields FC are playing Radcliffe Borough – kick-off at 3pm – and Covid-19 Community Champions will also be on hand to answer any questions from people who might want to get their next jab.
One such community champion is Steve Camm, who manages the South Shields FC Foundation.
He said: “We are really looking forward to hosting a mobile vaccine clinic ahead of kick off this Saturday at 1st Cloud Arena. We hope it is something people will choose to participate in to help protect themselves and others.
“We’d like to see as many people as possible choosing to take up this opportunity to get their jab ahead of Saturday’s game.”
Steve added it was vital to help cut through some of the “confusing information” around Covid-19 and vaccines. He said: “We are trying to be an independent source of information. We’re a football club. We don’t have a political axe to grind.
“And we think this is important in terms of our role within the community. We are hopefully just able to help people understand what’s going on around them.
“The idea is that we have three junior football games in the morning at the ground and then the first-team game in the afternoon so that gives us the ability to reach a big range of people.”
GP Dr John Lloyd, who’s based at the Marsden Road practice and is clinical director of the South Tyneside East primary care network, is part of the team leading the borough’s vaccine effort.
Dr Lloyd said: “This is just another way of making sure everyone gets protected. It’s about getting out to people where they’re going to be and helping them to access vaccines.
“As a GP I see patients every day. Almost all are really happy to be offered the vaccine – I think overall we’re doing well here.
“But there are a lot of sad and traumatic stories out there of people who don’t get the vaccine and become really unwell. And of those who recover I think there’s a real regret they didn’t have it.”
Dr Lloyd said the clinic would be handy for fans, but also for people working locally – and added it was just a short walk from Bede Metro if people wanted to travel from further afield.
South Tyneside Council’s health lead Coun Anne Hetherington also encouraged people to get jabbed – especially given high Covid-19 rates due to the Omicron variant. She said: “If you’re off to the match on Saturday, it makes perfect sense to take advantage of this opportunity.
“Case rates are very high in the borough at the moment, so I’d encourage anyone who hasn’t yet had their vaccine to come along to the walk-in clinic and do the right thing for themselves and their community.”
In South Tyneside, case rates have rocketed since Omicron hit. For the seven days to January 7, there were 2,742.6 cases per 100,000 people in the borough. That’s 10 times higher than the case rate for the first week in December, which was 264.7.
People aged 18 and over are eligible for the Covid-19 booster jab three months (91 days) after their second dose. A range of other drop-in clinics are taking place throughout the week at Flagg Court in South Shields, St John the Baptist Church in Jarrow, the Glen Health Centre in Hebburn, and other local venues.