Twickenham and the Nou Camp have joined the drive to suppress COVID-19 by opening to the public as walk-in vaccination centres.
Twickenham hosted a one-day event on Monday called Let’s Tackle Covid, which offered 15,000 first jabs to anyone over the age of 18.
In Hounslow, an area close to the stadium, there was a sharp rise in cases of a highly transmissible variant last week, and it is hoped that the vaccinations at England’s home of rugby union will help to stem the spread of the virus.
The opportunity to get vaccinated proved to be a popular one, with the Evening Standard describing queues as “longer than Glastonbury”. On Monday, around 10,000 people received their jabs.
Meanwhile, Spanish LaLiga giant FC Barcelona has supported a similar scheme at the Nou Camp.
Unlike Twickenham’s one-off event, however, the stadium will operate as a vaccine centre for the next three weeks, from Monday to Friday, with the aim of giving around 2,500 people their doses per week.
Elena Fort, a spokesperson for FC Barcelona, stated: “Barça wants to stand alongside the people and the country, and can help everybody to understand the need to be vaccinated.”
Venues around the world have played a key role in COVID testing and vaccinations over the last year. The Stade de France opened as a vaccination centre in April, while SoFi Stadium, home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, was lined up in February.
Image: WeLoveBarcelona.de on Unsplash
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