SSE mass vaccination site to open
Community pharmacists also set to join vaccine rollout
Last updated 29th Mar 2021
Today (Monday) marks another milestone day for the mass vaccination programme in Northern Ireland, as the first Covid-19 vaccines will be administered at the SSE Arena and on the high street.
The facility in Belfast is set to open from 0800, while community pharmacists will also join the rollout.
The car park at the SSE Arena is already being used as a Covid-19 testing facility and now the arena is set to administer around 40,000 vaccines per week.
It was hoped the over 40s could be eligible in time for the opening but Health Minister Robin Swann says that age group can expect to book in the coming weeks:
"We should hopefully be moving to the next cohort within the next couple of weeks but we will do it as quickly as vaccine supply allows us.
"We had hoped to be doing it in conjunction when we open the SSE...but unfortunately that additional supply that we were expecting has set us back a couple of weeks."
Monday is the first day pharmacists will be administering the jabs on the high street as part of plans to make vaccines more accessible.
The Health Minister says he has no concerns over supply: "We wouldn't be taking these steps if we didn't have a reassurance and a confidence in supply not just for the first vaccinations but also for anyone who has received their first one, to make sure there's vaccines available for their second one."
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