People of Plymouth come forward in droves as Home Park records its biggest vaccination day
Staff and volunteers at the Home Park vaccination centre are pulling out all the stops to make sure no-one misses out on their booster vaccination.
The Home Park team recorded their best-ever day for vaccinations on Monday 13 December, giving 3,108 jabs at the Argyle stadium and a further 359 at Mutley Baptist Church. The previous highest number of vaccinations in any given day was 2,600.
By coming forward for the booster in droves, people in Plymouth and the surrounding areas are giving themselves the best possible protection against the Omicron COVID-19 variant, which is thought to be more transmissible than previous variants.
Staff at Home Park had already given nearly half a million vaccinations in the last year in the last year at Argyle’s ground, at the former Derriford Hospital vaccination centre and in pop-up clinics around the city.
They had begun to add twilight clinics (running 10pm -2am) into the mix of booked appointments and walk-ins before the Prime Minister’s announcement last night (12 December) of the Omicron emergency booster mission.
Today, the Home Park team started the day with a fully-booked clinic, but they were so keen to get as many people vaccinated as possible, they pushed themselves to the limit and took a decision this morning to open up to walk-in vaccinations as well.
Sue Wilkins, Director of Mass Vaccination and Testing said: “We want people to get the best possible protection. Two doses of a vaccine more than three months ago, is not enough to stop you catching and getting symptomatic disease with the Omicron variant. But three doses prevents 70-75% of infections. So you do need a third dose to give you the protection you need. Please get your booster as soon as you’re eligible – don’t miss out.
“We have done everything we can to increase the number of people vaccinated, for example, changing the way we run our clinics. In mid-September we were giving an average of 5,300 vaccinations every week. In the week commencing Monday 6 November, we gave 16,905 vaccinations –more than a three-fold increase.
“Now we are looking at what more we can do to increase capacity in our clinics so no-one misses out as you can see from our efforts yesterday. We also plan to offer more twilight clinics that people can book into as well as more walk-in sessions. A massive thanks to our staff and volunteers for their flexibility and support with making this happen. They are going above and beyond."
The NHS is working hard to offer everyone aged 18 and above, who is three months or more since their second dose, a booster by the end of the year. People must wait 28 days after a positive COVID PCR test before having the booster.
Please note that if you haven’t had a first or second dose yet, there is still time. Please do make a booking via the National Booking Service.
Please see our website for further details about how to book your appointment and which sessions are available as walk-ins. If you attend a walk-in clinic, please do come prepared to queue.
https://www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/stay-well-covid
Want to volunteer?
People can register as volunteers via a simple application form on the website “Our Plymouth”, the regional volunteering organisation which is coordinating volunteers.
