Boots, Tesco and Morrisons offer help with COVID-19 vaccine rollout

Boots, Tesco and Morrisons have offered to help the UK Government with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, as the UK prepares for large-scale deployment of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which must be stored at -70°C, the recently approved Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine can survive at a warmer temperature and can be safely transported on Tesco’s large fleet of refrigerated food trucks.

Morrisons has revealed its car parks will be used as vaccine centres, with three stores hosting jabs currently and a further 47 sites being made available to the Government.

Chief Executive David Potts said the assets of the company are “at the disposal of the country”.

“We’ll have three stores operating from Monday 11th January and we have offered up another 47 subject to requirements and availability of the vaccine,” he said.

Boots has been working with a clinical commissioning group run by a local GP to open three COVID-19 vaccination sites in Halifax, Huddersfield and Gloucester, with more planned to open in the coming weeks.

A Boots spokesman said: “Boots has extensive knowledge and experience of mass vaccination and we have developed a model for COVID-19 vaccination that is aligned with our exceptional safety, clinical and operational standards.

“We stand ready to do much more and our national network of pharmacy expertise is prepped to support the NHS and the Government to accelerate the rollout of the vaccine.”