Vernon Kay spent the day volunteering at Bolton’s newest vaccination site.
The I’m A Celebrity star took on the role of marshal for the day, helping some of his hometown’s most vulnerable residents get their Covid-19 jab.
The presenter helped out at the Hootons Pharmacy at the Bolton Wanderers vaccination site last week as part of The Sun newspaper’s Jab’s Army volunteering campaign.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain this morning about his stint as a marshal, he said: “The experience as a whole was something really, really special.
“It was amazing watching all these people arrive, having dealt with three lockdowns, and then the moment they left after having their vaccination, you could tell there was light at the end of the tunnel for them.
“They felt like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders.”
Hootons Pharmacy, part of the Whittle Pharmacies group and based in Lee Lane, Horwich, is one of several pharmacy-operated sites in Greater Manchester.
They are currently vaccinating the over 70s by appointment only via the national booking system.
Dr Helen Wall, senior responsible officer for the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Bolton and clinical director of commissioning at Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “It really doesn’t matter who or where you are, meeting a fellow Boltonian is like catching up with family.
“Vernon took to volunteering like a duck to water. He had all the trademarks of a great volunteer: empathy; humour; compassion; and a genuine interest in the programme.”
Vernon added: “Helen has done a phenomenal job of rolling out the vaccine in the Bolton area.
“What I learnt was in these vaccination centres in Bolton, it’s 55 per cent medical staff and 45 per cent volunteers.
“The volunteers I spent time with were loving the fact that they were helping out and doing something to get the vaccine out.”
