VACCINES

December 2020 - present

Without the numerous Covid-19 vaccines thousands of Barnsley residents have received since the start of the pandemic, it’s fair to say there’s no way we’d have left lockdown as quickly as we did.

Those on the front line really did save hundreds, if not thousands, of lives and by administering the vaccines they’ve been able to ensure those who were most vulnerable were kept as safe as possible from Covid. Hundreds of care home residents were among the first in Barnsley to get their vaccine as the council did incredibly well to spread the positive message, despite their being initial concern.

More than anything, what the vaccine brought to Barnsley was hope. Hope for local people who had it harder than almost anywhere else in the country during the pandemic. Hope for businesses who thought their firm was going to be unable to open their doors for the public again.

It’s unlike anything we’re likely to see again, and we’re certainly more prepared for something similar.

The healthcare federation did superbly well, as did Barnsley CCG, who managed to get people flocking in their thousands to get the vaccine. Without them, we could be living in a very different world.

Metrodome

Opening To The Public

Barnsley’s largest leisure venue opened its doors to residents to get their Covid vaccine in December 2021. It opened so people were able to receive their booster jab, with health bosses in the town hoping to get 40,000 people vaccinated in less than a month.

The clinic at the Queens Road venue was opened amid a push for all eligible people aged 18 and over to be offered their booster before the end of the year. The walk-in site at the Metrodome has been deemed a success, with Barnsley’s vaccination capacity upped to more than 3,500 a day as a result of its opening.

It closed its doors after Christmas but it was an initiative that undoubtedly saved residents’ lives and allowed us all to get back to the ‘new normal’ at a much faster pace than anyone could have ever expected.