St John Ambulance has today confirmed it has been approached to potentially train up thousands of volunteers to administer a COVID-19 vaccine.
This was first indicated to be the case in a Daily Mail report yesterday evening.
The paper reported that it has seen leaked plans for volunteers with no previous medical experience – the only criteria needed being that the volunteer is between the age of 18 and 69, have at least two or more A-Levels or equivalent, be at low risk of COVID-19, and be prepared to undergo a reference check – to be trained to administer the injections and potentially deal with any immediate adverse reactions.
It comes after last month when the legalities over who can administer a vaccine were extended.
This now includes independent nurses, allied healthcare professionals, paramedics, physiotherapists, pharmacists, and student nurses and doctors.
ADVERTISEMENT
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said at the time: “These legal changes will help us in doing everything we can to make sure we are ready to roll out a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it has passed clinical trials and undergone rigorous checks by the regulator.”
Now, it has been today confirmed by the CEO of St John Ambulance today that the non-governmental organisation has been approached.
ADVERTISEMENT
Our workplace training is still running in lockdown! Our training is classified as essential and most of our courses are running as planned. All our venues are COVID-secure and you can find more information on our website: https://t.co/ImZaSJcUlzpic.twitter.com/pCLzFxr22i
Confirming that it had been asked to train extra vaccine volunteers, Richard Lee – CEO at St John Ambulance – said: “During the COVID-9 pandemic, St John volunteers have already given hundreds of thousands of hours of their time, supporting the NHS in caring for patients on board ambulances, in hospitals and as part of vital community projects such as this year’s seasonal flu vaccinations, and that work continues.”
He continued: “St John Ambulance is proud to have been asked to support NHS staff in getting ready to deliver a COVID-19 vaccination programme when one becomes available.
“Our role includes sourcing vaccinators within the new regulations set out by government and delivering official training from Public Health England, as well as recruiting many thousands more people in patient-facing support roles, such as patient advocates and first aiders at vaccination sites.”
ADVERTISEMENT
As well as vaccination volunteers, St John Ambulance is also recruiting “vaccination care volunteers”.
The role includes: “Supporting patients before or after their vaccination, providing reassurance and potentially dealing with medical emergencies.”
Just like the vaccine volunteers, all applicants who apply for St John Ambulance roles must be between the ages of 18 and 69, be at a low risk of contracting COVID-19, and must undergo and pass necessary reference checks.
News
Travel warning issued as tens of thousands to descend for Manchester Half Marathon
Daisy Jackson
A travel warning has been issued ahead of the Manchester Half Marathon this weekend, with tens of thousands of runners and spectators expected to arrive in the city.
People are being urged to plan their journeys ahead of time, with significant road closures in place from the city centre as far out as Sale.
Road closures – and subsequent bus diversions – will also affect parts of Stretford, Chorlton, Trafford, and surrounding areas.
Around 32,000 people are expected to take part in the Manchester Half Marathon this Sunday, with thousands more coming out to cheer the runners on.
Transport for Greater Manchester is advising people that the Bee Network trams will be the best way to get around over the weekend.
Extra trams will be operating to provide as much capacity as possible.
Road closures and bus diversions will start on Saturday 3 October and continue until the actual race day on Sunday 4 October, lifting fully by 8.30pm.
Tens of thousands of runners and spectators will descend on Manchester for the half marathon
Earlier this year, the Manchester Marathon led to a record-breaking day for Metrolink trams, with the highest number of passengers ever recorded on a single day in the network’s history.
Whether running or cheering, people are advised to use the Bee Network app to plan their journeys and are strongly encouraged not to drive within the affected areas.
Steve Gilholme, Head of Events at Transport for Greater Manchester, said: “The Manchester Half Marathon is another one of those special occasions where the people of Greater Manchester and beyond come together, with thousands of people taking on the challenge and raising money for good causes, while many more will line the route to cheer them on.
“This does mean the city centre and especially trams will be incredibly busy so please plan ahead and give yourself extra time to make journeys.
“The Bee Network app and website will be the best places to get the latest travel information and tap and go contactless payments are the quickest and easiest way to pay.”
You can see all the road closures for the Manchester Half Marathon HERE.
Funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the 14 national museums of the UK are all located in England – including the Imperial War Museum North, and the Science and Industry Museum in our region – and free entry to was first introduced all the way back in 2001, with millions of visitors having benefitted since.
National museums are said to add more than £1 billion a year to the economy, and bring in visitors from all over the world.
In fact, seven of the UK’s 10 most visited museums are national museums, and 7.1 million people visited the Natural History Museum and 6.4 million visited the British Museum in 2025 alone.
The Government has announced that all national museums in the UK will remain free for everyone to visit / Credit: Science Museum Group | Wikimedia Commons
Earlier this year though, the Government committed to working with local leaders and the museum and tourism sectors to explore whether charging overseas visitors could help museums’ finances.
But following this, it’s now believed that charging could deter visitors, and that the impacts and benefits would ‘not be felt equally’ across the sector.
Instead, the free entry will be funded by the £1.5 billion Arts Everywhere Fund – which is providing £760 million for museums – while £600 million of infrastructure funding is supporting national museums and DCMS-sponsored cultural organisations.
The latter funding will be used to address critical maintenance and works to estates, and enable institutions to deliver on their commitments to share collections with visitors from around the world.
The Manc -
17th November 2020 
