Church hall is venue for NHS COVID-19 jabs
published on 27 May 2021
Local people are being invited for vaccination by an NHS health team working out of The Salvation Army corps (church) in Stowmarket.
The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine to the first patients started on Wednesday, 19 May with people receiving their first jabs that morning.
This follows on from a successful vaccination programme at The Mix in Stowmarket for people in Cohorts 1-9 which ends on 5 June.
People with their second vaccine booked at The Mix should attend the appointment there.
Major James Lloyd, leader of The Salvation Army in Stowmarket said, he was delighted that the hall on Violet Hill was set to be used as a vaccination centre until September. Meanwhile to allow for the hall to be used for vaccinations and for face-to-face worship to resume in the town the corps will jointly worship with the United Reformed Church in Stowmarket so that worship can restart as scheduled.
He said: “We hope the centre will see the vaccination of 500 people a day and this will be a great thing. We need to be a lighthouse - a place of hope and healing and the room we use as a prayer room is where we are currently keeping the vaccine.
“Though we are able to meet, its best to use the building to vaccinate the community. It’s only right that we offer our building which we have been blessed with to help in the fight against this deadly disease that has caused so much loss and devastation in our communities for more than a year.”
Church leaders are offering pastoral support to NHS staff, volunteers and members of the public who may need some emotional support while several members of the corps are helping to direct traffic and patients.
