Guernsey Press

Young people queue for vaccines amid rise in Indian variant of coronavirus

Formby in Merseyside has seen a rise in cases.

Published

A vaccine centre has had queues around the block after it was announced all over-20s would be given a jab.

The centre at Hirshman’s Chemist in Sefton, Merseyside , is near Formby, which has seen a rise in coronavirus cases with the Indian variant detected.

Following a Facebook post announcing all over-20s would be eligible for a jab at the centre after 3pm on Friday, more than 150 people turned up.

Adam Fleming, 24, had been in the queue for about two hours after he and friend James Lawrence, also 24, “bombed it down here as quick as we could” when they heard the news.

He said: “It’s not how I expected my Friday night to go but it will be worth it in the end.”

Mr Fleming added: “There’s been a lot of talk of people saying young people don’t want it but you can see yourself as soon as we get a sniff at it everyone is here.”

The pair said they were near the back of the queue when they arrived at the pharmacy on Station Road in Ainsdale at 3pm, but others behind them were turned away after numbers reached 150.

Stephanie Belford, 23, said the travel firm she works for agreed to let her finish work early to go and get the vaccine.

She said: “It’s very important just to get back to normal.”

Friends Kerry Belford, 24, and Faye Marsh, 22, both work in schools and were eager to have the vaccine as soon as they saw the Facebook post.

Ms Marsh said: “Summer’s coming and things are going to be happening so it’s just a bit of a relief to get it.”

Surge testing is also taking place in Formby to try and identify cases of the Indian variant.

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