Why Chichester Cathedral is ‘not a suitable vaccination site’

Several Observer readers have written in to enquire why jabs could not be carried out at the cathedral, following the news that several others around the country – including Salisbury, Lichfield and Blackburn Cathedral – are being used for this purpose.

In a statement on Twitter, a cathedral spokesman said: “Rather than acting on the assumption that Chichester Cathedral is not a suitable vaccination site, our team made direct contact with the NHS locally.

“The Cathedral has not been considered as a vaccination hub for a number of reasons.

“All hubs would need adequate handwashing and toilet facilities, parking, be easily cleanable and have the capacity and ability to store fragile vaccines.

“It would need to be closed to all other activities (which is likely to last several months).

“Whilst the Cathedral can sadly not be a vaccination hub for these reasons, it brings us great joy to see other Cathedrals offering their buildings for this effort.”

A spokesperson for the Sussex COVID-19 vaccination programme has previously explained why a city centre site venue has not been considered for the vaccine roll-out – read more here.

The latest two GP-led vaccination clinics for the district got up and running at the end of last week.

Jabs began to be administered at Tangmere Hall on Friday and at the Selsey Centre on Saturday.

It comes after vaccinations started in Pulborough for those in the north of the District earlier this month.

Vaccinations are also due to start at Riverbank Medical Centre and Petworth Surgery in the next two weeks, subject to supply of the vaccine, the spokesman said.

Dr Hannah Davies, Medical Director for NHS West Sussex CCG, said: “It is fantastic to see that these two further GP led vaccination services are now live for people in the Chichester district.

“The local Primary Care Network, GPs and their practice staff, along with our teams have been working extremely hard to get these sites up and running as quickly as possible for the communities of Chichester, and I would like to thank everyone involved for all their hard work and dedication in getting us to this point.”

The first people being booked in are those at the highest risk of COVID-19 – those over the age of 80.

People will be contacted by the NHS when it is their turn to receive the vaccine and are asked to not contact their GP to ask for it – you will be contacted by the NHS as soon as an appointment is available, the spokesman said.

The timing of when people will get the vaccination depends on the availability of the vaccine and the priority group they are in, which is set by the national Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (an independent expert advisory committee).