Twickenham rugby stadium turned into walk-in vaccine centre
Twickenham Rugby Stadium has been turned into a major walk-in vaccine centre in a drive to try to boost vaccinations against coronavirus as cases of the Indian variant surge.
Up to 15,000 first dose jabs are being made available for those in the local area who have not yet been vaccinated.
The event – called Let’s Tackle Covid – aims to increase the number of vaccinations as cases of the Indian coronavirus variant surge in Hounslow, west London.
A spokesman for Twickenham Stadium said it was “proud” the venue would be supporting one of “the biggest walk-in vaccination events” in England.
Anyone who is eligible for their first dose can walk in without an appointment.
Pippa Nightingale, the chief nurse for north-west London, encouraged people “to take some time out of your day and come and see us” during the fine bank holiday weather.
Kelly O’Neill, Hounslow Council’s director of public health, said: “Getting the vaccine is the single most important step we can take to protect ourselves, our families and our communities against Covid-19 and we encourage all our local community to have their vaccine as soon as they are eligible.”
Twickenham Stadium venue director Mark Lynch said: “We are proud to have supported the NHS for over a year during the pandemic, first with a test centre in Twickenham Stadium car park and now to set up this mass vaccination facility in record time.
“It’s taken less than a week to turn around and I’d like to thank all 600 stadium and NHS employees involved for their hard work to make this happen.
“Like rugby clubs across the country, we feel it’s important for us to do our bit to support our local communities.”
The event has been organised by the local NHS trust in partnership with Hounslow Council and supported by England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU).