Asda administers 10,000th Covid vaccination
Asda’s in-store Covid vaccination centres today reached a major landmark with the vaccination of the 10,000th patient less than five weeks after the first centre opened.
Asda became the first supermarket to support the NHS vaccination programme using its in-store pharmacies with the opening of a vaccination centre in the Cape Hill store in Birmingham at the end of January. A second vaccination centre opened a week later in the Watford superstore.
The supermarket has partneredwith the NHS to transform the George clothing section of the two stores into separate and secure vaccination centres which are open seven days a week. The NHS identify priority groups to receive the vaccine and eligible individuals book an appointment online to attend the store.
Faisal Tuddy, Asda Superintendent Pharmacist, said: “We are so proud of the teams across the two sites for doing all they can to help the NHS get the vaccine to priority groups as quickly as possible. Many of the people we’ve seen have been shielding at home for months and we hope receiving the vaccine is the first step towards a return to normality for them.
“Our in-store pharmacies are located at the heart of communities and easily accessible, which makes them a convenient option for priority groups living nearby. We are happy to make more sites available nationally to the NHS in the coming weeks to support the acceleration of the vaccination roll out.”
Asda’s 10,000th Covid vaccination was given to Andy Sidnell, aged 61 from Watford. He said: “I’m very excited to have the Covid jab. I’ll feel so much safer from today going forward. The more people that have the vaccine the better. It’s been tough for the last 12 months, but we’re getting through it and I can’t wait to get back to normal later in the year.”