The region’s first drive-thru Covid-19 vaccination clinic has been opened at the University of Bath, offering another option for people in the area to protect themselves from coronavirus.
Using a drive-thru vaccination clinic | Photo © Ringo Chiu / Shutterstock.com
Adults over the age of 18 in need of their booster vaccine will be able to visit the site, which is being hosted in the university’s east car park at Claverton Down every Sunday.
The drive-thru clinic will be open between 10am and 4pm, and those arriving for a booster jab will not need to have pre-booked an appointment, nor be registered with a GP.
As the site is designed solely for in-vehicle vaccinations, any person arriving on foot will be turned away.
Gill May, Director of Nursing and Quality, said: “We are always looking at how to make our vaccination offer more accessible and more convenient, and we hope this new drive-thru option will tick both boxes.
“People will get their boosters in their car and most should be in and out of the site in less than 20 minutes, meaning the whole process can easily be added on to the beginning or end of anybody’s weekend plans.
“With Plan B restrictions coming to an end this week, there has never been a better time for people to boost their immunity against Covid-19, and the more transmissible Omicron variant, which we know affects those who have only had two doses much more severely.”
A fast lane will be in use for people getting vaccinated but not behind the wheel, as non-drivers are not required to wait 15 minutes after having the jab.
Although currently only open on Sundays, extra clinic days could be added in future should the venue prove popular.
Keith Zimmerman, Chief Operating Officer, University of Bath, said: “We are very pleased to be able to help the NHS deliver its booster programme by using the east car park at Claverton Down campus as a drive-in location.
“We hope this will help get as many people boosted as possible over the coming weeks, and give themselves and each other the best possible protection against Covid-19.”
So far, more than 2.1 million vaccines have been given out across Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire, including more than 600,000 booster doses.
