THE CORONAVIRUS vaccine may be offered in fast-food restaurant car parks to make sure at-risk people don’t get left behind.
Government advisors suggested setting up jab tents near fast-food outlets in a bid to make the vaccine “easily accessible” for groups who are more likely to be admitted to hospital with Covid.
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Health chiefs are being told to go to extra lengths to ensure that people who fall into poor, obese and ethnic minority categories, as well as men, are among the first to get the jab when their age group becomes eligible for it.
This could involve GPs phoning patients within these groups to personally invite them for their life-saving Covid jab.
Professor Robert Dingwall, of the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation, said these groups would particularly benefit from the vaccine, adding: “The NHS and local public health teams should adopt measures – tailored to their area – to ensure a high uptake among these groups and that they do not get left behind.
“It’s about making the vaccine easily accessible.
“Having a vaccination marquee in a business park with fast-food outlets may be one way to do it.”
This comes after the Health Secretary praised the “unbelievably brilliant” effort and enthusiasm that volunteers have shown in the fight against the deadly bug.
Across the country, a total of 2,500 vaccination centres have been manned by NHS staff, retired nurses and GPs.
In turn, they have been aided by Royal Voluntary Servicemen and women, including 50,000 selfless heroes from Trending In The News’s Jabs Army.
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The Health Secretary said this evening at the Downing Street press conference: “The Jabs Army marches on.
“And they’re doing an amazing job in helping everyone get the vaccines.
“The voluntary effort in getting the vaccine rollout has been unbelievably brilliant – the number of people that have come forward, and the enthusiasm that has been shown.
“I’m very grateful to everybody who has given up their time.”
It comes as The Queen last night urged Brits to get their jabs and said: “It didn’t hurt at all.”
The 94-year-old monarch, given her injection seven weeks ago and wearing a brooch in tribute to ill husband Philip, told a video call that Covid was a “plague”.
The number of Brits jabbed is 28 per cent of the population, the third highest in the world behind Israel and the UAE.
Yesterday, the numbers who have had at least one dose rose by 448,962 after a slump for several days this week.
Last week, the vaccine roll out moved onto the next phase, with over-65s and younger people with underlying health conditions in England being offered the jab.
The success of Britain’s vaccine rollout helped drive the government’s roadmap out of lockdown, with all restrictions set to end on June 21.
