First look inside the Derby Arena Vaccination Centre

Vaccine at Derby Arena
Credit: ITV News Central

A 91-year-old man from Chaddesden in Derby has become the first person to be vaccinated at the Derby Arena.

The sports venue opened today after being re-purposed to deliver coronavirus vaccines.

Staff working there will be representing 30 GP practices from across the city.

The new centre opens as the Government tries to get almost 14 million people vaccinated by mid-February.

Credit: ITV News Central

Also being vaccinated today was Rita, who went to the arena with her daughter Annette.

Speaking to ITV News Central Rita said she felt "fine" after receiving the jab. "You just feel something on your arm, that's all I felt", she added.

So what does the process involve?

  • Patients enter the building to register and receive a vaccination card for confirmation purposes 

  • They are asked a series of questions about their health 

  • Patients are then led to a secure booth area which is divided by safety screens 

  • The vaccine is administered 

  • They are then led to a holding area where they are asked to sit down for around 15 minutes before receiving confirmation of their follow up appointment

It comes as hundreds of GP surgeries across England are to begin administering the Covid jab from today.

As of January 5, 1.3 million people in the UK had been vaccinated.

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