UCLH announces start of CAR T cell therapy clinical trial for lupus patients
08 November 2024
Publish date: 22 January 2021
People over the age of 80, and at-risk individuals in priority groups as well as frontline healthcare staff, will be first to be vaccinated at the centre as part of the NHS vaccination programme.
The centre will vaccinate will have capacity to vaccinate up to 1000 people a day, 7 days a week. It will be overseen by UCLH and will be staffed by Crick clinician scientists, as well as additional volunteers from the Crick and its partners who have all received NHS training in safely administering vaccines.
More than 300 researchers and other staff have volunteered their time to help with the vaccination programme, including a number of scientists who are medically trained, and the centre has been set up inside the Crick Institute within a matter of weeks.
People will be contacted by the NHS when it’s their turn to be vaccinated so you shouldn’t seek a vaccine before then, as the centre will not be operating on a “walk in” or “on request” basis. Patients will be encouraged to use public transport to come to their appointment and we do not anticipate any disruption to those who live or work near the site.
UCLH director of strategy Laura Churchward said: “We are delighted that the large scale vaccine centre at The Crick is now opening and I would like to thank everyone involved in setting it up. I would also like to encourage everyone who is invited to have a vaccine to take it up. Being vaccinated is the best protection against coronavirus.”
Paul Nurse, director of the Crick, said: “Getting the UK population vaccinated is a major task and it is part of the Crick’s civic duty to do all it can to help. These are the first steps towards allowing the UK to become normal again – getting the economy going, and crucially, protecting the vulnerable. I am grateful to everyone at the institute who is helping to make this possible.”
As the national vaccination programme evolves and expands, so will the Crick centre, offering vaccinations for residents in the local community in Camden and Islington according to Government prioritisation.
