The NHS’s vaccination drive has now been expanded with the opening of 33 new vaccination centres across the UK. These sites will ensure that vaccines are accessible to the vulnerable groups who are currently receiving doses, including the over-80s and health and care workers. London, Blackpool and Sunderland are among the locations that will see newly opened vaccine sites. The 33 new facilities will take the total number of vaccination centres in the UK to fifty. These sites are able to administer dosages to thousands of people per week, moving the country closer to Government’s target of vaccinating the top four most vulnerable groups by mid-February.

“These 33 new major vaccine centres will bolster our existing network and enable the NHS to protect as many people as possible in the coming weeks”, said Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi, who urged even those who had received their vaccine to maintain social distancing behaviours as the dosages may not confer an inability for the individual to transmit the virus to others.

In line with guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), NHS staff have been working around the clock to vaccinate priority groups. Strong early progress has now allowed staff to begin offering vaccines to the next vulnerable groups (those aged 70 or over and the clinically vulnerable). The sites will also work with more than 70 pharmacies playing a part in vaccine roll-out also. Should a person eligible for a vaccine according to the priority list not wish to, or cannot, travel to a vaccination centre, then they can wait to be contacted by their local GP-led service or hospital hub to receive their vaccine.