The first Covid-19 vaccines have been administered at the Westmorland Shopping Centre today to much excitement.

Doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine began being administered at 1pm on the top floor of the centre from within the former Clintons unit.

Over-70s and clinically extremely vulnerable patients are currently being called in for their jabs at the centre and there will be two queues, one for patients registered at a Kendal GP surgery and one for those called forward who live within 45 minutes of the centre.

Dr Ed Clarke, director of Kendal Primary Care Network, said: “It feels brilliant to be open.

The Westmorland Gazette:

“We’ve been doing vaccines in Kendal for weeks and we’ve managed to do about 5,500 so far.

“I’m really excited about the location because of the public transport links, the easy car parking and it will be easier to get to for patients.”

The first patient to receive their vaccine was Peter Liddle from Lindale.

The 74-year-old said it was a “big relief” to get the vaccine and that he was “very pleased.”

The Westmorland Gazette:

Senior Responsible Officer Dr Sarah Hauxwell, who has overall accountability for the delivery of the vaccination programme in the area’s hospitals and vaccination sites, confirmed that there had been no issues with securing the necessary vaccine deliveries and said she was confident the centre would have enough and that none would go to waste.

Organisers have been overwhelmed with offers of help from people, with vets, dentists and many more receiving training to help with the effort.

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service team members and military staff were also on hand to help with marshalling and booking people in.

MP Tim Farron attended the opening and commended everyone who had been involved in bringing the centre to fruition.

He said: “This is amazing, this should give people hope.

"The organisation has been amazing, and the GPs have got stuck in and they're still doing all the rest of their work alongside.”

The centre had been in the works for about a month before opening and will now be operating 12 hours a day, seven days a week, according to Dee Houghton,  deputy chief operating officer community at University Hospital of Morecambe Bay.

The centre has received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and is expected to be up and running until May, although that could be extended.