The Covid-19 vaccination centre at UWE's Frenchay campus was disrupted for a second day yesterday (October 4) as demonstrators gathered outside of the premises. One person, who tried to enter the centre for a walk-in appointment, said that there were about eight to 10 people "hanging around trying to explain their theories".
At one point, the centre was reportedly closed to all walk-ins and people were told, unless they had an appointment booked, they wouldn't be allowed in. One man said: "I left the site at around 12:45pm having been informed that no further walk-ins were available today, but the anti-vaxxers are still there and the security guys are very nervous about letting anyone in, understandably.
"The security guys are doing what they've been briefed to do. It looks like an impasse. As you can imagine, there's a lot of unhappy people wanting to get in for their jab.
Read more: UWE's Covid vaccination centre forced to close due to 'anti-vax' demonstration
"Loads of people have been turning up from all over the region only to be sent away - one guy who was turned away had come from Malmesbury. There were people wanting to know where they get compensated for the cost of their travel."
He went on to say: "The message from the anti-vaxxers was they're 'saving the children'. They were quoting some doctor's name and some stats.
"The walk-ins just wanted some Covid protection. There's around 8/10 people single handedly slowing down the region's response to the crisis. This will lead to more infection and more suffering in my view."
Another person looking for a walk-in appointment yesterday said she was "one of the many in need of a jab who got turned away". She added: "The centre was closed again, this time for walk-in Covid vaccinations, in order to "keep the site safe".
This is the second demonstration at the centre at UWE's Frenchay Campus this week - the first saw the centre having to close to both walk-ins and pre-booked appointments for the rest of the day on Saturday, October 1. According to one person at the scene, the demonstrators had been inside the building and police officers were stood at the entrance to the building, telling people they could not go in.
In response to yesterday's events, a spokesperson for the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Covid-19 Vaccination Programme, said: “We continue to provide Covid vaccinations, as normal, at all our sites and encourage people to book their vaccine using the national booking service or calling 119. Please visit www.grabajab.net for information about all the ways you can get the Covid vaccinations you are entitled to, which protect you against the virus.”
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