Final stages of preparation for Aberdeen mass vaccination centre due to open on Monday

A mass coronavirus vaccination centre is in the final stages of preparation for opening in Aberdeen.

The mass vaccination centre in Aberdeen is set to open on Monday

Work has been ongoing to prepare the P&J Live at TECA stadium, with the first jabs expected to take place from Monday February 1.It is intended the majority of immunisations in the city will take place at the venue.Project manager Clare Houston said: “P&J Live at TECA offers us enormous flexibility.“The whole vaccination programme will have to adapt according to the supply of vaccine, approval of new vaccines and availability of staff; in this space we will be able to expand our provision without interrupting existing clinics.“We have consciously decided to start on a smaller scale to allow us to ‘bed in’ but have the potential to vaccinate many thousands of people each day when operating at full capacity.“It is important to stress that this will not be a ‘drop-in’ facility. People will be offered appointments here in the same way that they will be offered appointments at any vaccination clinic.“Wherever possible, we need the general public to help us by accepting the appointment they are given.“While we will always try to accommodate individual choice, this is the biggest mass vaccination programme the UK has ever seen and we need people to make the necessary arrangements to attend the appointment issued.”

The centre will operate on an appointment-only basis, and people across the north-east are being urged to accept the time and date they are offered to get their jab.

Nick Waight, managing director of the events complex, told the Press and Journal: “P&J Live is ideally suited as a mass vaccination centre. Mobilising the venue and our teams, assisting the NHS with protecting the population will, in turn, get us all back to a more normal life in the not-too-distant future.”

He added that those arriving for the vaccine can expect a “safe and secure experience”. There will also be free parking available in the underground car park and buses run every 10 minutes to and from the city centre.

Covid-19 safety measures will be in place at centre, as well as all other vaccination points across the region.

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