Image: Jim Osley [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Geograph
Centre delivered 80,000 doses during the Covid-19 pandemic, including to prime minister Boris Johnson
The Francis Crick Institute is set to close its vaccination centre after administering around 80,000 doses during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The centre opened its doors in January 2021 in collaboration with University College London Hospitals (UCLH), with the last vaccination set to take place at 7pm on 13 August.
Over 350 people volunteered to sign up for shifts at the centre since it opened, with patients including prime minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Keir Starmer.
“We are incredibly proud to have played a part in the NHS vaccination programme,” said Sam Barrell, the Crick’s chief operating officer.
“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.”
Supporting the NHS
UCLH’s acting chief executive, Tim Jaggard, added: “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 and partner organisations volunteering their time to the programme. It is only though their generosity that we have been able to vaccinate so many people so rapidly.”
The vaccination centre will now return to its pre-pandemic role as a public gallery, with a new exhibition, Outwitting Cancer, set to open in September.
The Francis Crick Institute was one of the first research facilities to repurpose its laboratory facilities to help fight against coronavirus, including a facility to test NHS staff and patients for coronavirus set up in April 2020.
Speaking at the time, the institute’s director, Paul Nurse, said: “Institutes like ours are coming together with a Dunkirk spirit—small boats that collectively can have a huge impact on the national endeavour.”