Taunton Racecourse becomes coronavirus vaccination centre
Taunton Racecourse has become one of the biggest Covid-19 vaccination centres in the South West.
It opened on 18 January, and aims to vaccinate thousands of people in Somerset every week as the rollout of jabs continues to ramp up.
In a statement, NHS England said it has now sent out one million vaccine invitations to over-80s across the country.
The Government has said it hopes all adults in the UK will be offered their first dose of the vaccine by September this year.
The NHS has sent letters to those eligible for the vaccine who live within a 45-minute drive of the racecourse to give them the option of receiving their jab at the centre instead of waiting for an appointment with their GP.
Alison Wootton, Joint Senior Responsible Officer for the Somerset COVID-19 Vaccination Programme, said: “This is a really exciting development in our local fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
"We are really pleased to use the racecourse setting in addition to the 13 GP-led community sites and two hospital hubs already in place.
“We know that many people have been eagerly awaiting the news of any additional large scale vaccination centres and we’re confident that this large scale site will rapidly increase the number of people that can be vaccinated quickly and safely across Somerset.”
She added: “We are very grateful for the phenomenal support of all our health and care colleagues for their enthusiasm and dedication in the roll out of our vaccination services across Somerset, and to the hundreds of volunteers who have offered their time to support the smooth running of our new vaccination centre and our GP led community sites.”
Bosses at the racecourse have also shared their excitement about being involved in the vaccination programme.
Read more: