Covid: Twickenham Rugby Stadium opens walk-in centre to vaccinate up to 15,000 people

Twickenham Rugby Stadium has been turned into a major walk-in vaccine centre in a bid to boost Covid vaccinations.

The event, which is called Let’s Tackle Covid, has been organised by the local NHS trust in partnership with Hounslow Council and supported by England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU).

It aims to increase the number of vaccines administered as cases of the Indian variant surge in Hounslow, west London.

Up to 15,000 first dose jabs have been made available for those in the local area, with anyone eligible for their first dose able to walk without an appointment.

Currently, those who are aged over 30 are being called up for a vaccination in England.

A spokesman for Twickenham Stadium said it was “proud” the venue would be supporting one of “the biggest walk-in vaccination events” in England.

Kelly O’Neill, Hounslow Council’s director of public health, said: “Getting the vaccine is the single most important step we can take to protect ourselves, our families and our communities against Covid-19 and we encourage all our local community to have their vaccine as soon as they are eligible.”

Twickenham Stadium venue director Mark Lynch said: “We are proud to have supported the NHS for over a year during the pandemic, first with a test centre in Twickenham Stadium car park and now to set up this mass vaccination facility in record time.

“It’s taken less than a week to turn around and I’d like to thank all 600 stadium and NHS employees involved for their hard work to make this happen.

“Like rugby clubs across the country, we feel it’s important for us to do our bit to support our local communities.”