The first people will receive their coronavirus jabs at the new mass vaccine centre in Colchester today.
Thousands of people are expected to receive their coronavirus jabs each week at Colchester United's stadium.
The Jobserve Community Stadium, located off the A12 off United Way, opened as a mass vaccination centre this morning.
People in the top four priority groups, including those aged 70 and above, and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable, are having their jabs administered first.
Health and care workers are also being vaccinated at the centre to protect themselves and others.
The jabs at the football ground are taking place on the concourses beneath the seating, and a walk through system is in place so people adhere to the latest coronavirus restrictions.
Chelmsford City Racecourse opened as a mass vaccine centre on Monday, and Clacton Hospital, in Tower Road, will be opening as one this Sunday.
Each of the centres can vaccinate hundreds of people a day and thousands of people each week – enabling the programme to expand as more vaccine supplies become available.
Read more:
- All we know about the mass Covid vaccination centres opening this week
- Full list of Covid symptoms - including lesser-known 'Covid tongue'
A spokesman for Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, which is co-ordinating the large vaccination centres across mid and south Essex and Suffolk and north east Essex, said it is too early to tell how long the vaccination centres will be running for.
They are among more than 1,400 vaccination sites nationally and offer an additional option to hospital hubs, GP and pharmacy-led vaccination services already offering coronavirus vaccinations across the region.
The NHS is urging people only to come to a vaccination centre when invited to do so, to help ensure that priority groups are served first and to maintain safe social distancing at every venue.
People should arrive no more than five minutes before their appointment.
The other large-scale vaccination centres opening in the east this week are at:
- The Cliffs Pavilion in Southend
- Former Riverwalk School in Bury St Edmunds
- Alastair Farquharson Centre in Thurrock Community Hospital
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