A grandmother who was first in line this morning for a Covid vaccination at Aberdeen’s new mass centre at P&J Live feels “we’re turning a corner” in the pandemic.
NHS staff began their vital work at the £393 million events complex this morning after weeks of preparation.
Mastrick resident Violet Adams had not left the house since before Christmas, other than for occasional dog walks, before her trip to new facility today.
Mrs Adams, first in line this morning, praised the set up at P&J Live as everything went “very smoothly” during her visit.
‘It felt very safe’
The 78-year-old added: “It was very simple. They have been very clever in the way they have it laid out.
“It felt very safe and everyone was really nice in looking after you.”
Work will be scaled up in the coming weeks but around 20 vaccination booths are in operation just now.
At its peak, it is hoped 100 stations could be manned – depending on vaccine supply.
Around 20 vaccination booths are in operation now but the work will be scaled up in the coming weeks.
At its peak, it is hoped 100 stations could be manned – depending on vaccine supply.
NHS Grampian estimates 10,000 people could be given their jabs every day once the centre is fully up and running.
In its early days, around 6,000 will be vaccinated there every week.
Clinical lead for the mass vaccination centre, Elaine Slattery, said: “It is very emotional to see the centre open and people arriving to receive their vaccine.
“The whole team has worked incredibly hard – along with colleagues at P&J Live – to get to this point.”
‘We’re turning a corner in this’
And it is enough to spread hope and optimism among the over-75s, mostly from Aberdeen, who will be among the first to attend in the next few days.
Mrs Adams told The P&J: “It feels we’re turning a corner in this, I now just have to wait my 21 days and I’ll actually be able to leave the house again.
“I will at least be able to go to the bank or something, I haven’t been out since before Christmas.”
“I have been taking a bit of extra care as I have diabetes, the only thing I have done is gone out the dog for a walk.
“We haven’t been able to see friends but I have been lucky enough to see my sister, in my bubble, and my daughter who lives with me.
“Hopefully we can have some normality quite soon.”
She added she “can’t wait” for her second dose of the vaccine at the end of April.
Another mass vaccination centre, which opened at Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) yesterday, will treat 21,000 a week initially.
The NHS Louisa Jordan in Glasgow has been vaccinating between 1,000 and 5,000 per day since early December and has the capacity to go to 10,000 per day, the Scottish Government said.
Sturgeon: Mass centres ‘an important stage’ in vaccination work
At her daily briefing First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Today marks an important stage in the vaccination programme, with mass centres opening at EICC here in the capital and at The P&J Live complex in Aberdeen.
“Other vaccination centres are opening across Scotland, many of these in smaller communities will be located in facilities like village halls and sports centre.
“By the end of this week, more than 150 of these will be operational – and that’s in addition to the centres and GP practices that have been administering vaccine for the last few weeks.
“Assuming supplies of the vaccine come through as we expect, this expansion of capacity means that we are confident of meeting all of our targets for vaccinating different groups of people.
“I want to take the opportunity to pay tribute to and thank all those working so hard to get these shots of vaccine into people’s arms.”
Ms Sturgeon and chief medical officer, Gregor Smith, reminded those having their jabs that it would take up to 21 days to offer protection from Covid’s most serious effects.
