Pop-up vaccine centres are coming to London parks in time for the sun this weekend
In the latest iteration of the government’s “grab a jab” mass vaccination drive in the capital, several parks around the city will play host to pop-up clinics this weekend.
It’s the final push for the NHS vaccination programme to maximise the jab rollout before the majority of coronavirus restrictions are lifted on Monday.
Pop-up clinics, where you can turn up without a booked appointment, will be running in Greenwich Park, Wandsworth Common and Weavers Fields Park in Bethnal Green.
Elsewhere, clinics will run in Camden Market and at the Tate Modern on Friday evening, where the vaccine queue will coincide with live DJs.
Following the success of previous mass vaccination events at football stadiums across London, the Kia Oval, Stamford Bridge and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will also host walk-in clinics.
Any adult will be able to turn up and get their first vaccine if they haven’t already, and second doses will be administered to people who had their first dose 8 weeks ago or longer – the threshold being enforced according to current JCVI guidance.
Over 9.2m doses of the vaccine have already been given in London, but the capital has lagged behind other regions in terms of vaccine take-up.
The number of people testing positive for coronavirus has surged in the last few weeks, buoyed by the gradual easing of restrictions and increased socialising indoors.
Scientists have warned that the UK is heading into a “third wave” of the virus, but the government is pressing on with the easing of the majority of restrictions on Monday.
Health secretary Sajid Javid has said that cases could rise to as many as 100,000 a day once all restrictions are lifted, but that the vaccine programme was a “huge wall of defence” that broke the link between positive cases and deaths in the country.
According to the latest Public Health England data, a total of 261,832 new cases were recorded in England in the seven days to 14 July – a 33 per cent increase on the week before.