Covid-19 jab sites open at Derby Arena, Clay Cross Sharley Park Leisure Centre, Belper Babington Hospital, Chapel en le Frith Thornbrook Surgery, Ashbourne St Oswald’s Hospital

Sharley Park Leisure Centre in Clay Cross, Babington Hospital in Belper, Thornbrook Surgery in Chapel en le Frith and St Oswald’s Hospital, Ashbourne, are included in the new wave of site openings.

Both Derby Arena and Sharley Park Leisure Centre are the first in the county to be converted from public spaces to carry out vaccinations. So far, vaccinations in Derbyshire have been carried out in care homes or at NHS facilities such as hospitals and GP surgeries.

Vaccinations are all by appointment only.

People should not contact their GP about a vaccination unless asked to do so, and should not attend any vaccination site without an appointment.

Derby & Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is managing the rollout of the vaccine across the county, and CCG medical director Dr Steve Lloyd said the opening of the arena was another big step forward.

“Carrying out vaccinations at Derby Arena means we can provide this vital vaccine to more people even more quickly in a really important population centre. Teams from the PCN, the Arena and Derby Council have worked incredibly hard to get this vaccination centre up and running, and I’m really proud of their efforts.

“This continues the progress we have made, beginning with vaccinations in our two largest hospitals in early December, then moving to primary care sites and then to care homes before Christmas. The speed with which our teams have managed to achieve this is a tribute to their dedication and professionalism.”

This new wave of openings means Derbyshire now has nine primary care vaccination sites, joining facilities in Dronfield, Ripley, Long Eaton and Bakewell, plus the two hospital hubs at Royal Derby Hospital and Chesterfield Royal Hospital.

Vaccinations will be rolled out to more sites over the coming days and weeks, as the vaccination programme continues to build momentum.

The first vaccinations in Derbyshire took place at Chesterfield Royal Hospital and Royal Derby Hospital on December 8, followed by the county’s first vaccinations at a primary care site on December 18 at Stubley Medical Centre, Dronfield.

WATCH THIS: First vaccination at Derbyshire surgery.