Colchester Utd stadium to open as vaccination centre
The Community Stadium is among a series of new sites to open nationally this week
Colchester United Football Club's stadium will today (2 February) begin administering Covid-19 vaccinations to priority groups.
It's one of five announced to open across Essex this week, joining others opening across the country.
Other centres opening in the county include:
- Clacton Hospital
- Chelmsford City Racecourse
- The Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea
- Alastair Farquharson Centre, Thurrock Community Hospital
The new locations are among 1,400 vaccination sites operating nationally in addition to hospital hubs, GP and pharmacy-led vaccination services.
Tim Waddington, Colchester United General Manager, said: "At the very start of the pandemic we offered the stadium as a venue for whatever it could be used for by the NHS. We have supported the NHS by hosting training programmes and COVID-19 testing - we’re delighted to now see vaccinations starting here."
Nigel Leonard, Executive Director of Strategy and Transformation at Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT), which is coordinating large vaccination centres across the area, said: "The opening of these centres will have a huge impact on our ability to accelerate vaccinations to the people of Essex and Suffolk and protect those most at risk as quickly as possible.
"I would like to thank my NHS colleagues, partners and everyone involved for their incredible work and dedication to enable these centres to open as quickly as possible."
The NHS is urging people to only visit a vaccination centre if they have been invited to do so.