An out-of-service Stagecoach Manchester bus has been turned into an NHS COVID-19 vaccination centre for the Greater Manchester and Yorkshire areas.
For the next 12-16 weeks it will target hard to reach areas, schools, colleges, and university vaccination programmes, with a capacity of up to 200 people a day. The bus received its first patients in July and is expected to administer vaccines to 1,000-4,000 people. Stagecoach says it will also form part of the “homeless roll out plan” for the area.
“This is great initiative between the NHS and Stagecoach Manchester, and allows us to provide greater accessibility to vaccines for residents in the Greater Manchester and Yorkshire areas,” says Safraz Shafqat, NHS PCN Lead for North Manchester.
Adds Lee Wasnidge, Managing Director of Stagecoach Manchester: “We are delighted to be able to assist with the vaccination roll out in this way, serving local communities in more remote areas in order to help in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’d also like to extend our gratitude to the hard-working NHS staff that have been working tirelessly over the past 18 months to treat those affected by the virus, and to help administer vaccines.’
