Last week I visited a pop-up clinic at West Suffolk Hospital, and spent time working as a volunteer steward supporting the vaccination programme.
A floor of an office block on the hospital site was converted into a staff vaccination hub in January for the first round of vaccination doses and this week staff began to receive second dose injections, which help ensure maximum protection against Covid-19.
The hospital hub is focused on vaccinations for local health and care staff including hospital and community care staff, ambulance crews, dentists, opticians, care home staff and council staff dealing with those most at risk from the virus. It administered more than 16,000 vaccinations in the first round.
I was incredibly impressed with the vaccination hub. It's a very efficient but still very caring approach, and there is a great team of volunteers supporting the NHS staff. Getting vaccinated is extremely important in tackling Covid-19, and I want to say thank you to everyone at West Suffolk Hospital - and at the dozens of vaccination centres across Suffolk - for the great work they are doing to protect us all.