Melton volunteers sought to help with Covid jab roll-out

From this week all 132 GP practices across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland is now providing either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccinations to all eligible patients through their local primary care network.

These are predominantly at dedicated vaccination centres, such as the one at Melton Sports Village, which opened shortly before Christmas and has been giving around 1,000 jabs a week.

With greater availability of vaccine, the local roll-out is accelerating and volunteers are needed to meet and greet people as they arrive for their vaccine, welcome them and ensure they know where to go, who to ask for and what to expect.

Melton Borough Council leader, Councillor Joe Orson, said: “Every jab in every arm makes a difference and takes us one step closer to life returning to normal, and we should all be doing what we can to support the vaccine roll-out.

“In volunteering we are helping to protect our community, friends and family and bring an end to this Covid pandemic.

“I shall be volunteering myself and I encourage anyone who is fit and healthy and has some time to spare to do the same.

“Together we can beat this.”

Voluntary Action LeicesterShire (VAL) is working with NHS partners and building up a rota of people keen to help and says that while it needs people across the whole of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, it would particularly like to hear from people from the Melton and Rutland areas.

Kevin Allen-Khimani, executive manager for public sector contracts and projects at VAL, said: “As we move towards the next stage of fighting coronavirus with the roll-out of vaccinations, these volunteers will play an integral role.

“As we all know, there’s an indefinite timescale to this, so we will be truly grateful for anyone who is able to put themselves forward to help across the coming weeks and months.

“At the moment, we have around 330 individuals signed up to help but we definitely need more people to come forward.

“There will be strict procedures and policies in place to ensure that volunteers are as safe as possible, and we would love to hear from anyone who is able to give their time.”

Every volunteer will be provided with full PPE and allocated a specific person on site to report to, who will be on hand to support and provide a full induction.

Depending on the site, those looking to volunteer will have access to a variety of shift patterns from two to four hours at a time.

Although there isn’t an expectation for volunteers to do a full day, there is a possibility to do this if it suits.

The VAL team is happy to work with each individual to find a pattern that works best for them, including regular shifts at the same time each week.

If you are able to help – or know someone who can – you can find out more information by visiting www.valonline.org.uk or www.volunteerleicestershire.org.uk or by calling 0116 2575050.