Leighton Buzzard community thanked for acts of kindness as centre reaches 1,400 vaccinations in a few days

More than 1,400 people have been vaccinated in the first few days since the opening of the mass vaccination centre at Leighton Buzzard Rugby Club.
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The centre – a jointly run service by all three general practices in the town (Bassett Road Surgery, Leighton Road Surgery and Salisbury House Surgery) – launched on Thursday lunchtime with a constant flow of pensioners lining up to get their long-awaited jab.

By Sunday evening, the total number vaccinated stood at about 1,430, with Leighton Buzzard Primary Care Network aiming to have completed the over-80s cohort by this coming Sunday, as well as residents and staff in care homes. It is hoping to start giving the vaccination to the over 70s by the end of the week.

A PCN spokesman said there had been emotional scenes in recent days at the Stanbridge Road premises as people expressed their relief and gratitude at receiving the jab.

Rotary volunteers at the rugby clubRotary volunteers at the rugby club
Rotary volunteers at the rugby club

He said: “The PCN would like to give a huge thank you to our fantastic patients, doctors, nurses, administrators and wonderful volunteers working in the vaccination centre.

“Special thanks to our lovely Leighton Buzzard community for your support.

“In addition, thank you to the staff of the rugby club who have been magnificent in hosting us, to the town council, BLEVEC, June Tobin and her volunteers, Morrison’s for supplying water to sustain the staff, Chris at Millennium Mats for enabling us to have a clean hall, Meadow Marquees for ensuring our patients are kept safe and warm.

“These acts of kindness have made a great difference to patients and staff in the centre.”

Rotarians have been volunteering at the rugby clubRotarians have been volunteering at the rugby club
Rotarians have been volunteering at the rugby club

Both Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines were delivered to the rugby club on Thursday morning. The Pfizer vaccine is the first being used first due to its short shelf life of around 90 hours, while the AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored for about three months.

The centre will run from 8am to 8pm for up to seven days per week on an ongoing basis until all target groups have been vaccinated.

The PCN has admitted that a letter from NHS England last week had caused some anxiety for local residents who had been invited to attend mass vaccination centres in Stevenage or Birmingham in an effort to ramp up the numbers receiving the jab.

They say residents can do so if they wish, but they will still be imminently contacted by phone by their surgery about using the rugby club, and can cancel any arrangements they may have set up for further afield.

To ensure the smooth running of the rugby club service, residents are asked to arrive promptly and allow 30 minutes for their appointment; If possible arrange your own private transport or ask family or friends to help if possible; as deliveries of the vaccine are strictly limited the vaccination centre is only able to offer the vaccine to those people who have been given an appointment by their surgeries; please do not attend the centre if you do not have an appointment.

> The Rotary Club of Leighton Linslade were pleased to be able to respond to the call for volunteers to assist at the rugby club.

A spokesman said: “Rotary have committed to assist wherever possible but primarily every Saturday and Sunday morning until we can get our community back on track.

“Having parked thousands of cars over the years it comes as second nature to Rotarians to be able to assist with traffic management at the site when attendees minds are quite rightly focused on receiving their jab.

Rotary President Simon Marshal added: “Many people associate Rotary locally with events such as May Fayre but with our motto of ‘service above self’ we were delighted to respond to the call to assist and our admiration goes to the NHS and BLVEC for all their hard work in setting the centre up. Rotary are committed to assist for as long as the centre and our community needs us.”