Salisbury's City Hall opens as Covid-19 vaccine centre
It's the first large scale hub in Wiltshire
The first invited members of the public are receiving their Covid-19 vaccine in City Hall Salisbury today (Tuesday 26th January).
People over the age of 80, with pre-booked appointments, will get their first of the jabs, after some health and social care staff were given it yesterday.
The venue has been shut since March due to the pandemic and in October it was announced it would remain closed for the foreseeable future.
Far from it's usual live events, the Wiltshire Council owned site has now become the county's first mass vaccine centre.
Some of City Hall's staff have been working hard in partnership with the NHS Foundation Trust to get the building ready.
People over the age of 80, and living within a 45-minute drive of City Hall, will be written to in the coming days with details of how to book an appointment, if they haven't received a letter already.
Cllr Pauline Church, Cabinet Member for Finance, Procurement and Commercial Investment, said:
"I'm really pleased that Wiltshire Council has been able to offer this to the vaccination programme, it's one of the largest venues in the area and it's just brilliant because obviously it has been closed for a little while and it's just a great opportunity to allow this space to be part of this vaccine rollout.
We're used to using the centre for different purposes whether it's for exhibitions or for music shows or for wedding fayres and private hire so it's quite adaptable and we've got seats that come out and retract back again so what I think is really good about this location is that it's so close to central car park, it's easy for people to get here, people know the venue, feel very comfortable coming here and I think that's what people will be reassured by."
The centre will be open seven days a week, as long as they have vaccines in stock.
They can give up to 900 people jabs every day, a maximum of 96 per hour.
WHAT THE BUILDING LOOKS LIKE
The inside of the building has undergone a big transformation over the last month.
Here is a quick video of what patients will experience if they visit City Hall for their injection:
It's become the fifth vaccine centre in South Wiltshire to open after Wilton, Larkhill, Tidworth and Salisbury Cathedral.