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Publish date: 13 August 2021
After delivering more than 80,000 vaccines, the vaccination centre at The Francis Crick Institute closes its doors today with the last vaccination taking place at 7pm.
The centre opened in January 2021 as one of the first large scale vaccine centres in London. In the following months, thousands of people walked through its doors to receive their COVID-19 vaccination. It now returns to its pre-pandemic role as a public gallery with a new exhibition ‘Outwitting Cancer’ opening later in September.
Staffing and running a mass vaccination centre at short notice was a massive endeavour and UCLH acting chief executive Tim Jaggard was full of praise for the many staff and volunteers who pulled out all the stops to provide this service for the community.
Thanking the Crick for being “incredible partners”, he said: “We are so very grateful to the Francis Crick Institute for partnering with us and supporting this important project to get as many people as possible vaccinated against COVID-19.
“The Crick team actively sought out ways to support the NHS from the very start of the pandemic. Before we opened the vaccination centre together, they worked with us to develop testing capacity and research new treatments, vaccines and the disease itself.
“To support the vaccination effort, the Crick offered the use of their facilities, as well as their staff and partner organisations volunteering their time to the programme. It is only through their generosity that we have been able to vaccinate so many people so rapidly.”
Sam Barrell, the Crick’s Chief Operating Officer said: “We are incredibly proud to have played a part in the NHS vaccination programme. The thousands of vaccines administered here over the last few months have all helped to save lives and begin to restore the sense of normality we lost to the virus. It wouldn’t have been possible without our NHS partners at UCLH and our army of enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers. Thank you to everyone who helped, and to all those who came to the Crick for their vaccine.”
The vaccination programme continues with new centres opening later this month. You can book your appointment online or by calling NHS 119 and or you can use one of the walk-in centres in north central London.
