Manchester United have made Old Trafford available to St John Ambulance to train volunteers in administering coronavirus vaccinations; four hospitality suites will be used over the next five weekends as part of a nationwide campaign to train 30,000 volunteers.
Saturday 23 January 2021 12:59, UK
Manchester United have opened up Old Trafford for St John Ambulance to train hundreds of volunteers as part of the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination programme.
Four hospitality suites will be used as a large-scale training facility over the next five weekends.
St John Ambulance are training 30,000 volunteers across the UK to administer COVID-19 vaccines.
Those trained at Old Trafford will deliver vaccines across Greater Manchester.
United staff will also have the opportunity to volunteer for the programme.
Manchester United chief operating officer Collette Roche said: "Old Trafford is an iconic location which will inspire the volunteers who are involved in this historic programme.
"The suites, parking, access and our dedicated events team can be valuable assets to this national effort to tackle COVID-19. We are proud to open our doors to St John Ambulance and welcome everyone involved in what is an inspirational project.
"We recognise that our local community will be feeling the effects of the pandemic for some time and we remain committed to using our resources to support the response to this public health emergency and its social impacts."
When the pandemic first struck last year United responded by producing 60,000 meals for NHS staff in local hospitals.
80 club and Foundation colleagues prepared £150,000 worth of food which was delivered to four NHS Manchester sites.
Car parks at Old Trafford were also used for drive-through testing while hospitality facilities were made available for a blood donation drive.
