A new Covid-19 vaccination centre has opened at Birmingham New Street station, conveniently located for people to have their vaccinations in the city centre.

Birmingham New Street is currently the second busiest station in Britain and is often the first place people pass through when visiting the second city. Network Rail has joined forces with the local NHS vaccination team in Birmingham and Solihull, and the Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, to open a vaccination centre in one of the station’s empty shop units.

The clinic is situated in the former HEMA store, directly opposite station reception. It will be open for walk-in and booked appointments daily between 8 am and 9 pm, but will not be open on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.

NHS Test and Trace is funding a programme for Birmingham City Council to deliver lateral flow tests in the community and council teams have stands in several locations across the city.

Network Rail has been working in partnership with the council since May to deliver free lateral flow tests on the station concourse since May 2021, and to date over 100,000 lateral flow testing packs have been handed out to passengers at the station.

For further information about the local vaccination programme, visit: https://www.birminghamandsolihullcovidvaccine.nhs.uk/

Denise Wetton, Network Rail’s Central route director, said: “The station, in the heart of the city centre, is a perfect location for an easily accessible vaccine centre to support this essential vaccination rollout. We were only too happy to help and will be supporting the vaccination team to get as many people through the door for their jabs as possible.”

Morag Gates, COVID-19 vaccine project director for Birmingham and Solihull, added: “We are so pleased to be able to offer COVID-19 vaccinations is such a central and well-known location in the heart of the city, at Birmingham New Street, which thousands of people will walk past everyday. Everyone who is eligible for their vaccinations; be it first, second or booster, are encouraged to come forward as soon as possible. Appointment slots are available to book, but we also offer a walk-in service. Booster doses for over 18s, who had their second dose at least 12 weeks ago, are also available.”

Andy Street, the mayor of the West Midlands, said: “It’s vital that access to the booster vaccine is as easy as possible, so a clinic in the busiest station in the West Midlands is in an ideal location. “It’s great to see this happen so quickly and effortlessly thanks to the hard work of Network Rail and the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, and I hope people will now step forward and use this new clinic to get vaccinated to protect themselves and their loved ones.”

Cllr Paulette Hamilton, cabinet member for health and social care at Birmingham City Council, said: “It is so important passengers keep themselves safe, particularly with the new Omicron variant. Vaccination and testing are our best defences against Covid-19 so I’m really pleased that this partnership between the city council, NHS and Network Rail has resulted in so many people collecting test kits. Let’s continue to work together to keep ourselves and each other safe.”