Jab Van at GRH to close after 25 February 2023

The JabVan, now a familiar fixture behind Beacon House at GRH, is giving its last COVID vaccinations this Saturday 25 February after which it will be decommissioned and returned to the national team at NHS England.

We’d like to offer our thanks and appreciation to Lorna Herold and the whole JabVan team for their huge contribution to the NHS COVID vaccination campaign, from its beginnings at the Edward Jenner Vaccination Hub in December 2020 to when the JabVan opened back in November 2021 to support the booster campaign, first for health and social care staff and then when it opened to the public.

The COVID vaccination campaign has substantially altered the course of the pandemic, saving tens of millions of lives globally and we’d like to thank the members of the vaccination team and the wider hospital pharmacy, estates maintenance, IT and other teams for playing their part in this. The team has helped not only to protect thousands of health and social care staff but also many members of the public in Gloucestershire, both those who are particularly vulnerable and others who realise the importance of protecting themselves to protect others.

Dr Marion Andrews-Evans, Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for the Gloucestershire COVID Vaccination programme said:

“Thanks to their extraordinary hard work and dedication, the JabVan became a go-to site for getting a COVID vaccine. Whether for complex allergy patients or for parents wanting their 5-11 year olds vaccinated with as few tears as possible, the team were on hand to make the process as smooth as possible.

"I would particularly like to thank Lorna for her support to the vaccine programme, working closely with partners across the health and care system in Gloucestershire to make sure that everyone who needed a vaccine was able to get one in a timely way. She and her team can be rightly proud of everything they have achieved.”