Staff and volunteers thanked after two years of running STEAM vaccination centre

Staff and volunteers at Swindon’s biggest vaccination centre have been thanked for their support ahead of the centre’s closure on Saturday (28 January).

After just over two years in operation, the COVID-19 vaccination centre at Swindon’s STEAM Museum will administer its final vaccine on Saturday.

Since opening its doors in December 2020, a staggering 463,307 vaccinations have been administered at the centre, which accounts for 17 per cent of all COVID-19 vaccinations given out across the Swindon, Wiltshire and Bath and North East Somerset regions.

The running of the centre has been supported by 697 volunteers helping out as car park marshals and patient co-ordinators. Volunteers and staff at the centre will gather on Saturday lunchtime during the final clinic to enjoy some cake and other refreshments as a small gesture to thank them for their huge efforts.

People of all ages have visited the STEAM Museum to receive a dose of the COVID-19 vaccination, with the centre seeing its biggest peak in December 2021 after the NHS announced it would be offering every adult the chance to book a COVID booster. At this time, around 2,000 people were being vaccinated on a daily basis in a bid to protect the general public from the Omicron variant.

Councillor Brian Ford, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Adults and Health, said: “The hard work that has taken place at the STEAM Museum’s vaccination centre over the last two years is something for Swindon to be proud of. The staff and volunteers at STEAM are truly our heroes and their hard work and selflessness has meant that thousands of people across the borough have been able to get their COVID-19 vaccine over the past two years.”

Steve Maddern, Swindon Borough Council’s Director of Public Health, said: “I would like to say a personal thank you to everyone at STEAM who volunteered and helped administer the COVID-19 vaccine. The staff and volunteers at the centre have truly played their part in supporting Swindon through the pandemic by enabling so many people to get a vaccine.”

Gill May, Chief Nurse, Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board, said: “The Steam Museum has been an essential site for our vaccination program for more than two years, and has helped to deliver around a fifth of all COVID-19 vaccinations that have been given out in our region.

“And while it is bittersweet to leave this venue after so long, we do so in a much better place, with the vast majority of our population now vaccinated against COVID-19, and the height of the pandemic firmly behind us.

“Of course, we will continue to keep a close eye on COVID-19, and should there be a need to stand-up a large vaccination site in Swindon in the future, we will absolutely be ready to go again.”

The STEAM Museum’s vaccination centre will close on Saturday (28 January) but other vaccination clinics continue to run across Swindon. Anyone who would like further details of how to get a COVID-19 vaccination should visit www.swindon.gov.uk/coronavirus for more details.