Swindon public health boss pays tribute to COVID vaccination team
More than half of the town's population have now received their first dose of a Coronavirus jab
Last updated 8th Jun 2021
Swindon's COVID vaccination team has been receiving praise, after it was revealed that more than half of the town's population have now received their first dose of a Coronavirus jab.
Since December, the repurposed STEAM Museum has been rolling-out the local vaccination programme. The site currently administers an average of 1,200 jabs every day.
In total, more than 126,000 Swindon residents have bagged their first dose to date.
'A bid to protect the health of our population'
Steve Maddern, Swindon's Director of Public Health, has told us the speed of the programme is unprecedented: "Never have we seen a vaccination programme in our history that has been able to be rolled-out at such a pace as this has been, in a bid to protect the health of our population.
"I think the community effort to support that has been really fundamental to making it a success".
Of the people who have received their first dose in Swindon, over 71,000 are now fully vaccinated, having been administered a second dose too.
Mr Maddern claims "local partnership working" has been a major part of the vaccination success, with Swindon Borough Council, the NHS and volunteers collaborating in recent months.
'No one organisation would have been able to do this in isolation'
"We have all been working tirelessly throughout the pandemic in a variety of different roles, to make sure that we can protect the population of Swindon and beyond.
"There will be a lot of unsung heroes as a result of this.
"No one organisation would have been able to do this in isolation, so from everyone - the administrators, the vaccinators, the managers, the volunteers that have stood out in the rain ... a huge sincere thank you from me".