A year on from the first mass vaccination centre opening in the North West how far have we come?

Video report by Granada Reports correspondent Tim Scott


The first mass vaccination hub in the North West opened at the Etihad Tennis Centre in Greater Manchester a year ago, in January 2021 - since then how far have we come?

Hubs which opened later at the St Helens rugby league stadium and Blackburn Cathedral have also delivered more than 410,000 jabs between them.

The latest figures across the whole region show NHS staff and volunteers have delivered almost 14 million first, second and booster jabs.

As the Covid-19 vaccination programme developed, the three mass vaccination sites, as well as many other sites across the region, have been pulling out all the stops to offer appointments and walk-in slots for first, second and booster jabs.

Staff at the site in Greater Manchester have been celebrating their achievements with a cake.

Alan Hill has been vaccinating at the site for the past year, he said: "What draws us here is the people who work here, we're a team, we work as a team, everybody works together.

"It's a great atmsophere to work in."

Credit: PA

Senior Responsible Officer for the Covid-19 Vaccination Programme in the North West, Dr Linda Charles-Ozuzu, said mass vaccination sites have played a key role in the success of the region’s vaccination efforts.

She said: “Large scale vaccination sites across the region have helped enable us to vaccinate people quickly and efficiently.

“As we continue to fight the new Omicron variant of Covid-19, I’d like to encourage anyone who is eligible for the booster vaccine – three months after your second dose – to please come forward to make sure your protection is topped up.

“If you’re not yet vaccinated, it’s not too late to get your first dose. There are more than 300 sites across the region offering a mix of appointments and walk-in slots.”

As well as mass vaccination sites, GPs, pharmacies, hospital hubs and pop-up sites have been vaccinating people across the region over the past year.