Government confirms stadium to be used as vaccine ‘super-centre’
THE Government has confirmed the location of seven “super-vaccination” centres in England that will open next week – and it includes Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol.
Number 10 said yesterday seven regional centres would be opening across the country in London, Surrey, Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester, Stevenage and Bristol – with Ashton Gate finally and officially named as the site by the Government.
In early December, the Post exclusively revealed that the army would be setting up a regional vaccination hub in the South Stand concourse of the stadium, and that happened days later, with soldiers arriving to manage the logistics of the transformation.
With the approval of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine and the aim for two million shots to be administered every week within weeks, bosses at Ashton Gate confirmed at the end of December the stadium is ready to welcome people from all over the South West to come for their jabs.
Number 10 said that across the country, the conference and sports centres will be staffed by a mixture of NHS staff and volunteers.
The stadium in Bristol will be in addition to GP surgeries and hospitals in the city and the South West region, which will also be co-ordinating their own vaccination programmes.
Not all seven will open on Monday, with exact opening dates still to be confirmed, but the Post understands that Ashton Gate is ready, and is expected to begin earlier in the week rather than later.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “They are opening next week.
“It may be the case that some open on a different day to others, but they will all open next week.”
Number 10 said the seven centres are:
» Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol
» Robertson House, Stevenage
» Excel Centre (Nightingale), London
» Centre for Life, Newcastle
» Etihad Tennis and Football Centre, Manchester
» Epsom Downs racecourse, Surrey
» Millennium Point, Birmingham.
They are opening next week. It may be the case that some open on a different day to others, but they will all open next week
Prime Minister’s official spokesman
There may end up being more than seven “super” centres overall, but this has not been confirmed
The Government has also not confirmed what plan will be in place for managing crowds heading to the centres on public transport.
This week, the Post revealed that a security firm was recruiting ‘vaccine marshals’ to help with organising people as they arrive for their jabs.
More details will be confirmed in the coming days, but it is thought people will only be able to go to the
centres by appointment.
The spokesman also said Armed Forces will be available to help with the vaccine rollout but did not give details on their role.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised to vaccinate almost 14 million people in the four top priority groups by mid-February.
But there are questions over how that will be reached, with 1.3 million people getting the jab in the first month or so.
It is thought doses are held up by the need for each batch to be approved by the MHRA regulator.
The vaccine can also only be distributed as fast as the two types are manufactured by the two firms Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi yesterday insisted there will be a “massive uplift” in the number of jabs this week.
The Times reported two million doses of the Pfizer jab held back for booster shots will be distributed by the end of next week after a controversial change in policy to give boosters later on.
Mr Zahawi said he will “absolutely” meet the mid-February target but declined to say when jabs will reach 300,000 a day.
“What I don’t want to do is bandy numbers around on the hoof,” the Tory MP told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Mr Johnson yesterday told MPs he hoped there would be a “gradual unwrapping” of restrictions from mid-February or later.
He said: “We are in a tough final stretch, made only tougher by the new variant.
“After the marathon of last year we are indeed now in a sprint, a race to vaccinate the vulnerable faster than the virus can reach them.
“Every needle in every arm makes a difference.”