Bristol's mass vaccination centre to open next week
The site at Ashton Gate will be one of seven across the country to open its doors
Last updated 7th Jan 2021
Bristol's mass vaccination centre will open next week, a government source has confirmed.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman announced the news at a Westminster briefing today (06/01).
The site at Ashton Gate, which was built with help from the military, will be one of seven to open its doors across the country.
It has been confirmed the others will be at Robertson House in Stevenage; the ExCel Centre in London; the Centre for Life in Newcastle and the Etihad Tennis Centre in Manchester.
The other two are Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey and Millennium Point in Birmingham.
“Ashton Gate is proud to support the delivery of this vaccination programme. The stadium sits in the heart of the community and to be able to help in whatever way we can is a real honour," Mark Kelly, Managing Director of Ashton Gate said.
“We have previously partnered with the NHS for Covid-testing here at the Stadium and it is perfectly set up to be able to help the NHS with this incredibly important programme.
“The NHS is leading the programme and they will be managing the distribution of the vaccine, starting with priority groups identified by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI)."
The centre has taken over the south concourse of the stadium and is in it's own self contained space with, bosses say, plenty of space for social distancing.
Matchdays for Bristol City and Bristol Bears will continue as normal and once it is allowed, fans will be allowed to return alongside the vaccine centre.
Dr Tim Whittlestone, Clinical Lead for the NHS vaccination programme in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, said: "We are delighted to be able to roll out the next phase of the vaccination programme in partnership with the Ashton Gate stadium.
"Our shared priority is a safe and effective roll-out for everyone in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. Our local GPs, primary care networks and hospital staff have pulled out all the stops to begin vaccinating the over 80s, care home residents and some frontline health and social care staff to date.
"The new AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine coming onstream, alongside the increased capacity at Ashton Gate, should allow us to move through the prioritisation categories at pace.
"It's a really exciting development, but it will still take time to reach everyone who needs to be vaccinated."
Members of the public are being urged to be patient.
When it is your turn to receive the vaccine you will be contacted by the NHS. All vaccinations are by appointment only.
The centre will be run by a mix of NHS workers and volunteers.