17 December 2020
The COVID-19 Vaccination Centre at the Queen’s Hall at Fort Regent is ready to begin delivering vaccinations to Islanders. The centre is expected to deliver vaccines to over 7000 people in January, although this could be more dependent on vaccine availability.
Becky Sherrington, Head of COVID Vaccine Programme said: “With the majority of nursing and residential residents having received their first dose of the vaccine, we’re now ready to vaccinate the Island’s nursing and resident staff, as well as staff from care agencies.
“We’ll begin this round of vaccinations on Saturday to ensure that these staff are protected against COVID-19, and can continue safely caring for the most vulnerable.”
The COVID-19 vaccination programme began on Sunday 13 December, with residents of nursing and residential homes being vaccinated on-site. From Saturday 19 December, nursing and residential home staff, and home care staff will be vaccinated at the Centre.
The Centre was constructed in 12 days by 20 reservists from the Territorial Army, who were supported by Fort Regent Staff, and engineers from JT.
Together, they have constructed six vaccination pods, with capacity for five vaccinators in each pod. This means that – at its peak – the Centre will be able to vaccinate up to 30 people at a time.
A one-way system has also been constructed to guide visitors, and to ensure that they can maintain physical distancing while attending their appointment.
Alongside the physical changes, engineers from JT have also installed the digital infrastructure needed to allow staff to check bookings, process tests, and ensure that the process is as streamlined as possible.
Ross Barnes, Operations Lead for the COVID Vaccination Programme, said: “It has been a phenomenal task to plan, construct and manage a vaccine centre that will allow us to safely and efficiently vaccinate the Island.
“I’d like to thank the Jersey Field Squadron for their hard work, the staff from JT who have ensured we have the technology we need, and the Fort Regent staff who have accommodated this work.”
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