Wiltshire Council’s Chief Executive and Director of Public Health have spent an afternoon at the City Hall vaccination centre.
Terence Herbert and Kate Blackburn have been volunteering to get an insight into the vaccine rollout locally.
City Hall has been operating as a large-scale vaccination centre to boost the rollout in Salisbury and south Wiltshire.
It is one of 27 sites set up across the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire CCG area.
Both Terence and Kate volunteered for a shift at City Hall on Tuesday February 16.
Each completed a four-hour stint – the standard for any volunteer.
As volunteer marshals, their roles involved greeting people and ushering, carrying out screening questions before people could enter the site, sanitising surfaces, providing reassurance where needed and making sure everyone felt supported.
Chief Executive of Wiltshire Council, Terence Herbert, said: “It was a privilege to be able to volunteer some of my time to support the community during this monumental rollout of the largest vaccination programme in British history.
“It was great to be able to see how much the vaccinations meant to everyone first-hand and to see people so happy, and some quite emotional, to be getting their vaccines.
“We all want to get back to some form of a normal life as soon as possible, and the vaccine offers that chance to get back to the things we want to do.”
NHS staff and volunteers at the venue are currently administering the jab to people over the age of 65.
Anyone aged between 16 and 64 with an underlying health condition are being contacted by their GPs.
Director of Public Health at Wiltshire Council, Kate Blackburn, said: “The rollout of the vaccine is a huge logistical undertaking, and it was great to see the City Hall vaccination centre in action on the ground.
“My day to day role means that I don’t get to go on the frontline as much as I’d like, so I really valued the opportunity to get out there and support people attending their COVID vaccination appointments. It was a real privilege to do and I can’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon!
“The joint work of the NHS, partners and volunteers around the county means that we are doing really well with the rollout in Wiltshire, and the vaccine is a crucial step in working our way back towards more freedom.
“Please do make sure you book your appointment when offered the vaccine and continue to follow the rules and guidance after you’ve had it, as you may still be able to pass the virus on to others.”
Anyone interested in volunteering should in the first instance contact bswccg.vaccinevolunteers@nhs.net
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