The Duke of Cambridge this morning (Monday 22^nd February) visited a vaccination centre at the King’s Lynn Corn Exchange in Norfolk to pay tribute to the incredible efforts and dedication of the staff involved in the Covid-19 vaccine rollout. 

Matthew Winn, Chief Executive, Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust, said: “I was delighted to welcome the Duke of Cambridge to the vaccination centre in King's Lynn today.  I am so proud of the immense efforts our NHS staff and army of volunteers have shown as we roll out this life-saving vaccination programme. I would also like to recognise the hard work of staff across the local hospitals, GPs and pharmacists - and thanks to our collective commitment, we have delivered over 300,000 vaccinations to people in priority groups across Norfolk and Waveney.”

During the visit, His Royal Highness spoke to NHS staff and volunteers about their experiences of being involved in the largest vaccination programme in British history. 

Sandra Laycock, vaccination nurse, who undertakes clinical assessments to ensure it is safe to deliver the vaccine to individuals, said: “The Duke was really interested in all that we were doing here to protect people and help them return to a more normal way of life in the future.” 

Margot Smith, immunisation nurse, was drawing up the vaccines today and said:  “It was great to explain the vaccination process to the Duke – he was really interested in my role in the vaccination centre today and my usual role as a school immunisation nurse."

Debbie Rudd, vaccinator, said: “It was great to hear that the Duke was so positive about people having their vaccinations and he thanked us for everything we are doing to support the vaccination programme.”

Raj Thirunageswaram, Clinical Operations Manager for the King's Lynn site, said:  “It was a pleasure talking to the Duke and I was pleased to share with him how well all the different professionals here today work together as a team.” 

Mike Passfield, Clinical Operations Director for the Trust’s large scale vaccination centres, said: “I’ve been privileged to lead the mass vaccination centre programme on behalf of Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust, and I enjoyed sharing with the Duke how many organisations have collectively worked together to overcome our logistical challenges and rolled out this life-saving vaccination programme.”

Husband and wife volunteers, Fliss and Stewart Davidson, added:  “It’s a great privilege to be part of the vaccination programme. We’ve been volunteering with the RVS since March last year and with the vaccination centres in Wisbech and King's Lynn for several weeks. The Duke was interested to hear how our role helps reassure people who are waiting to have their vaccine and how positive the atmosphere is at the Centre.” 

ENDS

Editor's notes

Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust delivers the four large-scale vaccination centres across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Norfolk and Waveney, alongside a number of GP and pharmacy-led sites. The vaccination centre at the Corn Exchange in King's Lynn opened on 1st February and has delivered thousands of vaccines every week since.

Statistics published by NHS England on 18th February confirm, for the period up to 14th February, that 307,716 doses of the life-saving vaccination have been delivered to people living in Norfolk and Waveney, with 94% of over 80s, 97% of 75-79 year olds and 73% of 70-74 year olds receiving their first dose.