Covid: Where are the seven mass vaccination centres opening next week?

London’s ExCel Centre is set to serve as one site

A general view of the NHS Nightingale Hospital at ExCeL London on 2 January, 2021 in London, England. The ExCel centre is set to serve as a mass vaccination site. (Getty Images)

The government has confirmed plans to open seven new mass vaccination centres across England next week.

In the capital, London’s ExCel Centre is set to serve as a mass vaccination site. 

Meanwhile, the Manchester Tennis and Football Centre will also serve as a vaccination venue.

The other five centres opening will be based in Birmingham, Bristol, Newcastle, Stevenage and Surrey.

Downing Street has said the venues will be staffed by NHS employees and volunteers.

The exact opening dates for each site have yet to be established, however the prime minister’s official spokesperson said they would be opening “next week”.

The seven centres opening are: 

• ExCel Centre (Nightingale), London
• Etihad Tennis and Football Centre, Manchester
• Centre for Life, Newcastle
• Robertson House, Stevenage
• Epsom Downs racecourse, Surrey
• Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol
• Millennium Point, Birmingham

More details on how the vaccination sites will operate are expected to be revealed over the coming days. 

Boris Johnson has vowed to see nearly 14 million people in the highest priority groups vaccinated by mid-February.

Among those considered the highest priority are people over the age of 70, older care home residents and their carers, frontline health and social care workers and those who are considered clinically extremely vulnerable.