Volunteers playing key role in county’s roll-out

MORE than 1,200 people have signed up to volunteer with the vaccine roll-out at seven sites in Nottinghamshire.

In total, 1,201 people across the county registered to help administer the Covid-19 vaccine in a feat which has been described as “nothing short of inspirational”.

At present, 453 of these volunteers are now in place, with the remaining 748 approved and on standby for if and when they are needed.

Their registrations are part of the Nottinghamshire Vaccine Volunteer (NVV) programme, which is managed by a team made up of the Newark and Sherwood, and the Mansfield community voluntary services.

The team has been responsible for recruiting and managing the volunteers at the seven sites across the county since the roll-out began in December.

Helen Stanbridge, director of operations at NVV, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the response and we were able to place volunteers on site almost immediately, many of whom have committed to regular slots.

“It’s heartwarming to still see so much community spirit in these ongoing exceptional times. We’d like to say a huge thank you to all the volunteers involved.

“The feedback from both people attending the sites, and the volunteers themselves has been overwhelmingly positive.”

One volunteer, who has helped with the rollout at the Kirkby-inashfield vaccine site, said: “My mum is 89 and has been a patient at Ashfield Health and Wellbeing Centre for years, and I wanted to say thank you for their support.

“I am proud to be involved and find it very rewarding and quite humbling at times.”

Registrations for volunteer roles in the county are currently closed. Future roles will be advertised on the Mansfield and the Newark and Sherwood community voluntary services’ social media pages.