Behind the scenes at Darlington's mass Covid vaccine site

The centre, at the Mowden Arena, opened today and is offering Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccinations to eligible people living within a 45-minute drive of the site.

• Mass vaccination site opens in Durham
• Darlington residents given a 'ray of sunshine' with vaccinations

Dr Stewart Findlay, the director responsible for the primary care element of the vaccination programme, said the site will administer between 500 to 600 vaccines per day, with capacity to expand to 1,000 per day.

It is currently vaccinating adults aged 60 and over and people with underlying medical conditions.

Already the NHS in the region has vaccinated over 904,000 people, including all people aged over 80, nine out of ten care home residents, plus scores of frontline health and care staff.

Dr Findlay said the NHS first started looking at developing a mass site in Darlington back in November and the arena was chosen due to its good travel links and its record of operating as an efficient flu vaccination centre.

• Mass Covid vaccination site confirmed for Darlington

He said it was essential to vaccinate the population against Covid-19 as soon as possible, with the national target being to have offered a vaccination to all adults by the end of July.

Darlington Arena Vaccination Centre Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT

Dr Findlay said: “I think everybody has a social responsibility to be vaccinated and we urge all communities to come forward when it’s offered.

“We are looking forward to the millionth vaccine being delivered in the North-East this week.

“And when I talk to the doctors, I tell them the work they are doing now will save more lives than anything they will ever do in their career.”

Among those receiving their vaccination on Monday morning was Raymond Archer, 64, from Redcar.

He works as an operations manager for an offshore seaport in Equatorial Guinea, so having the vaccination means that he can return to work as soon as possible.

He said: “I can’t wait for that. They’ve had someone else covering my job because of all the travel restrictions and you can’t help but worry about whether you’ll get your job back.”

Darlington Arena Vaccination Centre Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT

Mr Archer described the experience at the centre as ‘superb’’ and pain-free.

“It couldn’t have been easier,” he said. “You don’t even know that you’re having it.”

The Darlington centre brings the number of mass vaccination sites in the North-East up to four, joining Newcastle’s Centre for Life, the NHS Nightingale Hospital in Sunderland and the Arnison Centre, Durham.

In line with the process already in place for all other vaccination services, the NHS will contact people when it is their turn to book their vaccine.

Professor Neil Watson, Chief Operating Officer for the NHS Covid vaccination programme for the region, said: “Already the NHS across our region has done and continues to do an amazing job getting as many people as possible vaccinated, as quickly as possible.

Darlington Arena Vaccination Centre Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT

“Opening up the fourth vaccination centre in the region helps us to reach even more people as the programme continues to expand, giving even more people the opportunity to have their vaccine.”

He added: “We have received significant support from local partners to help us ensure this site is ready and that we can provide a good experience for patients and staff.

"In particular our grateful thanks to staff at Darlington Borough Council, public transport providers, local police, and of course our ever-growing army of volunteers and staff.”

“We are constantly delighted by how much people want to help us with the vaccination efforts, we know it’s the way we can all have hope that we can all get back to normal and see the end of this awful situation.”