Thousands of over-18s queue to get their coronavirus jabs

Thousands of over-18s have today queued up to receive their first Covid jabs as Britons were again urged to get vaccinated.

The UK’s vaccination programme has now been opened up to every age group with 18, 19 and 20-year-olds starting to receive text and email invites yesterday.

Teenagers and people in their twenties were seen standing in long queues to get their first shots at centres in London and other parts of the country. 

Jabs were today being administered at stadiums and football grounds in London that had been transformed into mass vaccination centres.

Giant jab clinics have been set up at the Olympic Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur FC, Charlton Athletic FC, Selhurst Park and Crystal Palace Athletics Centre.

People queue outside an NHS Vaccination Clinic at West Ham’s London Stadium in Stratford, East London, today

Thousands of over-18s have today queued up to receive their first Covid jabs as Britons were again urged to get vaccinated. Pictured: A woman receives a vaccine at Chelsea FC

Karol, 24, was seen wearing his Chelsea FC shirt as he got a jab at the club’s Stamford Bridge stadium

Jabs were today being administered at stadiums and football grounds in London that had been transformed into mass vaccination centres

18-year old Robyn Coatsworth receives her first Pfizer Covid-19 jab at Stithians Vaccination Centre on in Truro, Cornwall

Karol, 24, was seen wearing his Chelsea FC shirt as he got a jab at the club’s Stamford Bridge stadium. 

Smaller events are also taking place in local community venues in a drive to vaccinate as many Londoners as possible.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he was ‘delighted’ to visit Chelsea’s ground at Stamford Bridge to see the ongoing vaccination effort.

Chelsea FC had 6,000 Pfizer vaccines to administer on Saturday, with the jab being offered to all adults over the age of 18 yet to receive a first dose, as well as those awaiting a second Pfizer dose.

Government data up to June 18 shows that of the 73,766,593 jabs given in the UK so far, 42,679,268 were first doses – a rise of 218,636 on the previous day

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he was ‘delighted’ to visit Chelsea’s ground at Stamford Bridge to see the ongoing vaccination effort.

Anti-vaccine protestors gather outside a mass COVID-19 vaccination centre for those aged 18 and over at the West Ham’s London Stadium

Mr Khan said: ‘Chelsea FC, West Ham at the London Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur FC, Charlton Athletic FC, are hosting large-scale pop-up clinics, and there are a huge number of events taking place in local community centres, so that as many people as possible get convenient access to the life-saving Covid jabs.

‘You do not need to be registered with a GP to get vaccinated.

‘It is great news that more than eight million doses of the life-saving Covid-19 vaccine have been given to Londoners, and now all adults over the age of 18 are able to get the jab.

‘We are seeing the big difference that the vaccine is making in our fight against the virus, so I strongly urge all adult Londoners to book their appointments or attend a walk-in centre as soon as possible, and to ensure you get your second dose.’

The ‘super pop-ups’ are expected to attract thousands of young Londoners on ‘super Saturday’ who are now eligible to receive their first Covid jab.

Today’s case total – 2,583 more than the 7,738 recorded last week – comes amid fears that Britain will not be able to outpace the Delta variant with the current rate of vaccination

Britain’s death toll stands at 14 today, a rise of two on the 12 recorded this day last week. It follows the Prime Minister earlier saying the data ‘continues to indicate’ that his July 19 terminus date will go ahead

 

 

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi tweeted: ‘This is an incredible effort by the whole London team. Happening across the City at Spurs, Arsenal, Charlton and West Ham too. Come on London let’s get vaccinated!’ 

The continued success of the vaccination rollout however came as Covid cases rose by a third in a week with a further 10,321 people testing positive for the infection in the highest Saturday increase since February.

Today’s case total – 2,583 more than the 7,738 recorded last week – comes amid fears that the UK will not be able to outpace the Delta variant with the current rate of vaccination. 

It is the third day in a row where the number of infections has exceeded 10,000, and the highest rise on a Saturday since 10,406 cases were recorded on February 20. 

The nation’s death toll stands at 14 today, a rise of two on the 12 recorded this day last week, bringing the total to 127,970.