New Covid-19 vaccine centre to open in Leigh Park this week

As coronavirus jabs are ramped up across the country, a pharmacy in the shopping centre has stepped up to ensure residents can be vaccinated locally.

Greywell Pharmacy in Greywell Road has acquired a vacant unit nearby, and will be using it as a vaccination centre, staffed with kind-hearted volunteers.

The centre is due to open on Thursday, and demand is already soaring.

Pharmacy superintendent Mita Thakrar said: ‘There is a definite need for this in Leigh Park right now.

‘At the moment we don’t have a vaccination centre in Leigh Park, but there’s thousands of people living here.

‘Elderly people don’t want to get on public transport at the moment, so they desperately needed something closer to home.’

The centre will use the unit next door to Savers in Greywell Shopping Centre.

Letters have already gone out to locals informing them of the centre’s opening and bookings are flying in.

Mita said: ‘We’re already fully booked for the first week, which is just so overwhelming to think about.

‘Everyone here is excited to play their part in beating this virus for good.

‘On every Monday we’ll be allocated our vaccinations for the week and will get appointments sorted from there.’

The News is running a campaign with sister publications to get all pharmacies operating as vaccination centres.

The campaign, called A Shot in the Arm, has more than 125,000 signatures on Change.org.

Mita and the team at Greywell Pharmacy say more pharmacies should get on board with the campaign.

She said: ‘There was a lot of paperwork required to get things sorted, but at the end of the day this is something that’s sorely needed in Leigh Park.

‘Vaccines are a prescription medication, so there’s no reason why pharmacies shouldn’t get involved.

‘This is what our job is about – we already provide flu jabs so this is just a step up from that.’

You can sign the petition online here, and by sharing it on social media you can help reach more people and convince the government to heed the call to let all pharmacies deliver the jab.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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