People were turned away from a one-day vaccination centre set up at the Crucible theatre on Saturday.
Open to all adults in Sheffield, the pop-up vaccination site produced huge queues in the city centre. NHS officials confirmed they had reached full capacity shortly after opening.
The NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group described the response as “amazing”.
Dr Tom O’Brien, who worked at the temporary clinic, told the BBC that he was surprised by how many people showed up to get their jab, but also delighted at “how keen” the people of Sheffield were to get the first dose of their vaccine.
Though 700 doses of the Pfizer vaccine were available at the temporary clinic, the NHS Sheffield CCG confirmed via twitter that all vaccines had been allocated by 9am.
The Crucible has played an important role in South Yorkshire’s fight against Covid-19. The Sheffield landmark recently held the World Snooker Championships as part of the government’s event pilot scheme, as well as providing the venue for Saturday’s vaccine centre.
University of Sheffield student Rachel Ball arrived at 7:30 and waited for just over three and a half hours to get her vaccine, unhindered by the small numbers of anti-vaccine protesters.
She described the organisation of the event as somewhat shambolic, saying: “It would have been better if they started at 8 when they realised their limit had been reached”.
Rachel went to increase her chances of securing work in a hospital and maintains that all in all she is glad she went down, despite the fact that the event could have been run more efficiently.
With Covid-19 cases in the UK now concentrated in younger people, the government recently confirmed plans to extend vaccines to all adults ahead of the planned unlocking of all restrictions of the 19th July.
NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said recently: “I expect that by the end of this week, we’ll be able to open up the National Booking Service to all adults age 18 and above”.
A second drop-in vaccination clinic at the crucible is planned for Saturday 19th June, open to everyone currently eligble for their first dose.
Image: @NHSSheffieldCCG via twitter
