A new coronavirus vaccination centre has opened in Aylesbury, and the Bucks Free Press were given access to have a look inside.
Located at the town’s Buckinghamshire New University campus on Walton Street, the new centre officially opened on Monday, February 8, and will administrate vaccines to those who have been invited through either a GP or via the Government.
The centre is the first to be organised in Aylesbury by Oxford Health, which is the lead provider for mass vaccination outlets across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and West Berkshire.
Their first centre which was launched was at the Kassam Stadium - the home of Oxford United Football Club.
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And despite a few ‘teething problems’, Nicola Leavesley, who is the assistant operations director for the Covid programme at the Oxford Healthcare Foundation Trust, has high opens for Aylesbury’s new vaccination centre.
Other vaccination centres in the town are located at the Odeon Cinema and Stoke Mandeville Hospital, with BNU's outlet operating as a one-way system.
She said: “I think it’s a fantastic location in having it so close to the train station and the buses.
“We have also got very good access to car parks and the council have actually identified Walton Street Car Park which is over the road, for the vaccination centre.
“I think it is a brilliant location which is in the centre of the county as well, so it is very good.”
The first day of vaccinations at the BNU campus in Aylesbury opened at 9.30am and will shut at 5.30pm, but from the Tuesday onwards, the centre will be open from 8am to 8pm.
On its opening day, several people were seen going into the makeshift centre, with vaccinations taking place every 10 minutes via a two-pod system.
This means, in total, four people will be vaccinated at any one time with the booking slots being five minutes apart.
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Nicola added: “For the first day, you are always going to get a few teething problems as we’re testing the process, but I think we’re doing really well.
“It is the first time that the team is working together as a team, and even though there are a few things we can tweak, I am really confident that it’s going to be really good in the coming days and weeks.
Walton Street Car Park has been identified for the vaccination centre
“We are running this as a collaboration with the university and Oxfordshire Council, and we have formed a really good team working approach to delivering the project.
“We’re really proud to deliver this, right in the centre of Aylesbury.”
For more information on vaccination centres, visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/coronavirus-vaccine.
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