24 hour vaccination centres to be piloted ‘by the end of January’ - here’s how they will work

Vaccination centres which are open 24/7 will be piloted before the end of January, according to Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi.

These vaccination centres aim to be open around the clock in order to provide more slots for people to receive their jab, alongside being more convenient for those who may need to go early in the morning or later on in the evening.

Where will the 24 hour vaccination centres be?

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The first 24 hour vaccine centres will be piloted in hospitals in London, before the Government looks at how they can be further rolled out.

Mr Zahawi told Sky News: “We are going to pilot the 24 hour vaccination, the NHS is going to pilot that in hospitals in London and we will look at how we expand that.”

When asked when the pilots will start, he added: “By the end of January, absolutely.”

Although the current 8am to 8pm vaccination times have been working for the over-80 age group, it is thought that the 24/7 centres will allow more people to receive their jabs, especially younger people of a working age.

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Mr Zahawi said that 8am to 8pm vaccination slots work “much more conveniently for those who are over 80 and then as you move down the age groups it becomes much more convenient for people to go late at night and in the early hours”.

This pilot announcement comes as Foreign Secretary Dominc Raab said all UK adults should be vaccinated by September.

Speaking on Sophy Ridge on Sunday (17 Jan), Mr Raab said that the current roadmap for all UK adults to have been offered their first Covid vaccine is September, but that it could be sooner than this.

Mr Raab said: "Our target is that by September to have offered all the adult population a first dose, if we can do it faster than that great but that's the roadmap."