UK retailer Asda has opened its second COVID-19 vaccination centre, one week on from becoming the first UK supermarket to administer the vaccine through its in-store pharmacy.
The supermarket chain partnered with the NHS to turn a clothing section of its Watford store into a vaccination centre, with the capacity to deliver over 1,000 vaccines per week, which could rise depending on supply, to nationally agreed priority groups.
Birmingham
The Watford store follows the launch of the first Asda vaccination centre at the Cape Hill store in Birmingham, where up to 240 individuals from priority groups received the vaccine per day during the site’s first week in operation.
The new centre will open seven days a week, and trained Asda pharmacy colleagues will administer the Oxford Astra-Zeneca vaccine to patients who receive a letter inviting them to book an appointment for their vaccine.
Faisal Tuddy, Asda superintendent pharmacist, said the supermarket chain is doing "all we can to help the NHS get the vaccine to priority groups."
Tuddy added that adding a vaccination centre to the area is "a proud moment for our pharmacy colleagues in Watford, many of who live locally, and are keen to play their part in supporting the local vaccination programme."
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
