Morrisons will convert 50 of its car parks across the UK into COVID-19 vaccine centres after its chief executive said the grocer was “at the disposal of the country”.
From Monday January 11 three Morrisons car parks will host drive-through vaccinations for local customers, while a further 47 have been offered “subject to requirements and availability of the vaccine”.
Waitrose is also reportedly following Morrisons’ lead and offering out its HQ in Bracknell to host vaccinations.
Waitrose is following Morrisons' lead (three car parks to be used for jabs from Jan 11, 47 more made available) by helping out with the vaccination roll-out. Just local for Waitrose: using its sports centre at its Bracknell HQ to serve as a vaccination point for local residents.
— Josh Barrie (@joshbythesea) January 5, 2021
It comes after both Tesco and Boots also offered their considerable assets to help roll out the vaccine and help curb the rapidly spreading new strain of COVID-19.
The UK’s largest supermarket Tesco has offered the help of its country-spanning distribution company Best Food Logistics to aid the roll out of the vital COVID-19 vaccine as cases continue to skyrocket and millions more face new lockdown restrictions.
READ MORE: Tesco and Boots to help distribute Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine
Unlike the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which needs to be stored at -70C, the recently approved Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine can survive at warmer temperatures meaning it can safely be transported in Tesco’s refrigerated food trucks.
Meanwhile Boots is preparing to open three COVID-19 vaccination sites in Halifax, Huddersfield and Gloucester in conjunction with local GP-run clinical commissioning groups, with plans to open more in the coming weeks.
Rapid distribution of the vaccine is now more vital than ever as the number of new daily cases broke new heights yesterday to top 58,784.
While Tesco, Morrisons and Boots will all remain open under the new lockdown restrictions announced yesterday, it is understood that non-essential retailers could also offer their closed store estates to help with vaccine distribution.
Click here to sign up to Charged‘s free daily email newsletter