Grab a Jab at fire stations in Southampton

Yesterday, anyone aged over the age of 18 could have popped down to Hightown Fire Station between 3.30pm and 8.30pm to grab a Pfizer jab.

Today, St Mary’s Fire Station, on St Mary’s Road, is also open to walk-in appointments for Pfizer vaccinations between 3.30pm and 8.30pm.

Second jabs are available at the walk-ins if it has been at least eight weeks since the first dose.

To use the walk-in vaccine service people will need to arrive on foot - there is no parking available.

Both fire stations are still fully functioning and firefighters are on call should their skills be needed across the city.

Vaccination lead at Solent NHS Steph Clark told the Daily Echo: "We've set these vaccination clinics up to make it easier for people to come and get their vaccinations. We're really encouraging the younger generation to come through now and have their injection so anyone over the age of 18 can come and have an injection you can just walk in. And anyone who is due their second injection as long as it's eight weeks after their first injection can walk into any of our clinics.

"We've had a really good turn out

"It's really important you have your injection to try and reduce the spread of Covid-19 as we all know it spreading with the Delta variant.

"It's really important that we all get vaccinated."

Stephen Holder is a firefighter based at Havant Fire Station who has been redepolyed to the NHS to help with the vaccination programme since February.

He said: "We're offering jabs to anyone who walks in, we've been trained to vaccinate.

"[It's important] to get a jab so we can try and work our way out of this pandemic and get things back to normal.

"It's a pretty selfless thing getting vaccinated, you obviously protecting yourself but you're protecting the whole community as well."

Vaccines are offered on a first-come, first-served basis and there may be a short wait for people to receive their vaccine.