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The Torquay Riviera International Conference Center could become a vaccination center as the people of South Devon take their turn to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
There has been speculation about how and where the vaccines will be done after the first injection was given yesterday.
A 90-year-old woman from Coventry became the first person to receive the Pfizer vaccine.
Other vaccines are expected to be approved for use in the coming weeks.
Pfizer vaccine must be stored at extremely low temperatures, making it difficult to handle. However, other vaccines can be more easily stored and that will pave the way for more widespread Covid vaccination programs.
Across the country, sports facilities and conference centers are being prepared to become makeshift vaccination centers to avoid overcrowding and traffic problems around GP surgeries.
And in Torbay that could mean a role for the Riviera Center in Torquay, which hasn’t been able to host its usual schedule of big events during 2020, but is a great venue with easy access and parking.
Nothing has been confirmed, but Torbay Council Leader Steve Darling told Devon Live: “The Riviera Center has been offered as a possible site for the vaccination program, and I understand it is being seriously considered.
“However, we have yet to hear from the powers that be if it will be necessary.”
(Image: Ed Oldfield, LDRS reporter)
Patients at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth are among the first to be vaccinated in Devon, with the first injections given yesterday. Derriford is among the 50 hospitals chosen to be in the first wave of vaccines, and is the only one in Devon to be selected.
Staff worked throughout the weekend to prepare for the launch of the program.
People aged 80 and over, as well as home care workers, will be the first to receive the vaccine, along with NHS workers most at risk.
GPs and other primary care staff are also on standby to start jabbing, and people who book appointments have been making phone calls to make appointments. The government says it expects most vulnerable people to be vaccinated early in the New Year.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths recorded in Devon and Cornwall where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate has risen to the highest levels since the beginning of May.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics for the week of November 21-27, but recorded through December 5, show that 40 of the 362 deaths recorded in the two counties had Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate. Last week saw 34 of the 402 deaths that Covid-19 mentioned.
Of the 40 deaths, Torbay recorded three deaths in hospitals, three in a nursing home, two at home and one in another communal setting. There was one death in a hospital in South Hams and three in Teignbridge.
But the general trend in South Devon shows that the number of cases is decreasing. Torbay saw 64 new cases last week, 45% less than the previous week. In Teignbridge, the number of new cases was 48, representing a decrease of 31%. In South Hams the 36 new cases reported represent a 6% increase
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