Racecourses, arenas, hotels, a former DIY store, drive-thrus and pop-up services in mosques are just some of the innovative ways where people in the East Midlands have been able to benefit from the life-saving coronavirus vaccination.

The Midlands delivered the world’s first vaccine outside of a clinical trial as part of the largest vaccination programme in the NHS’s history, when Margaret Keenan, now 91 years old, received the jab at University Hospital Coventry in December 2020.

Since then, the vaccination programme has been rolled-out to GP surgeries, pharmacies, hospitals and large vaccination centres, as well as a number of more unusual partnerships that have helped to accelerate the vaccination programme in the Midlands.

Weavers Medical, Eskdaill Medical, Rothwell & Desborough Healthcare Group are working together to run a drive-thru vaccination service in Kettering. The group has designed an innovative way to deliver the vaccinations while keeping people safe in the process. People are not being invited into the building or in a busy waiting room. Instead, people can drive-thru, roll their sleeves up and roll out again as shown in this special video below.

A pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic was held at a mosque in Sherwood in Nottingham to encourage eligible members from the local community to get their vaccine. Vaccinations were delivered from the AlQuba Mosque – FiveWays Centre to anyone eligible for vaccination. Pharmacists have also been using community sites to carry out vaccinations such as the Prajapati Hindu Community Centre in Leicester and the Ikhlas Community Centre in the diverse Derby suburb of Normanton.

Sports venue Derby Arena has been re-purposed to deliver coronavirus vaccines and has staff working there representing 30 GP practices from across the city. The Kube, a room at Leicester Racecourse which is more used to hosting antique fairs and networking events, is also being used to fight back against the pandemic. The Lincolnshire Showground became a mass vaccination centre in February, in addition to the Princess Royal Sports Arena in Boston, which opened in January.

Harold Millington, 91, was the first patient vaccinated at Derby Arena

The Peepul Centre, a community arts centre in Leicester, is now being used as a major coronavirus vaccination hub. The centre had been providing free meals throughout last year to the vulnerable communities and NHS staff in the area. From January 2021, the arts centre has hosted 36 vaccination stations. Sessions, organised and run by Leicestershire Partnership Trust have been set up to enable patients with learning disabilities and autism, who had not already had their vaccine, to get one in a comfortable environment. In Derbyshire, a mobile vaccination service has been created where people with learning disabilities can be vaccinated in comfortable surroundings.

A vaccination centre at the former Wickes store in Mansfield has also helped to accelerate the vaccination programme and continue to protect the most vulnerable in the community. Pharmacy2U has teamed up with Village Hotels in Nottingham to open a vital vaccine centre to further support and ensure that vulnerable people have the vaccine. Other pharmacy sites include churches, dining venues, parish halls, and community centres.

Geoff and Jenny Holland had their vaccine at the Mansfield Vaccination Centre

A pilot scheme in which GPs in Leicester phoned patients who had declined or ignored coronavirus vaccine invitations has led to more than half agreeing to be vaccinated. The initiative was launched to improve uptake rates among high-risk communities.

Alison Tonge, the Regional Director responsible for the rollout of the vaccination programme at NHS England and NHS Improvement in the Midlands, said:

“The East Midlands has some of the most diverse populations in the country, so it’s vital that we take the vaccine out into communities to ensure everyone has easy access to the vaccine.

“On behalf of the NHS in the East Midlands, I would like to thank every one of our community partners and volunteers for their invaluable support in taking the vaccination service to places where people are most comfortable. These are places which are not only familiar to people but also have proved pivotal in providing social distancing, infection, prevention and control measures that you find in a clinical environment as well.

“We are very grateful that so many people have come forward to help us enable those who are eligible to get vaccinated. It’s been a fantastic demonstration of community spirit and a monumental effort resulting in more than 1.6 million people receiving the lifesaving vaccine.

“The vaccines are both safe and effective, so if anybody who is eligible but hasn’t been vaccinated yet, I’d urge them to go online or call 119 and get themselves booked in.”

People receiving the letters are invited to go online to the national booking service to arrange a jab at a time and location that is convenient for them. The booking service can be accessed at http://www.nhs.uk/COVID-vaccination. Those who cannot go online can call 119 free of charge.