Leeds United chief's pride as staff volunteer for Covid-19 vaccine effort and Elland Road centre targets 9,000 doses per day
The Whites opened up the Centenary Pavilion as a vaccination centre to aid the fight against the virus. It is one of four major centres in West Yorkshire, along with Jacob’s Well in Bradford; The John Smith’s Stadium in Huddersfield and Spectrum Community Healthcare CIC in Wakefield.
Vaccines will be administered by appointment only but the rate at which doses can be administered in the city has been boosted by Leeds United's partnership with the NHS.
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Hide AdKinnear says club staff will also do their utmost to help out.
"We are proud to have been able to support the national vaccine effort by donating our Centenary Pavilion as a vaccination centre for Leeds, along with a cohort of volunteer Leeds United staff to assist with stewarding," he said in his programme notes for Saturday's game against Brighton.
"The centre should be able to deliver 9,000 doses per day, meaning we are playing our part in helping our city return to normality as quickly as possible."
The sooner the vaccine can be rolled out across the city, the sooner Leeds United will be able to reunite the team and their fans, at Elland Road.
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Hide AdMarcelo Bielsa's side have not played in front of their supporters since March 2020 and only once in the last 10 months have they played in front of any fans - their game at Chelsea took place with an audience of 2,000 Blues season ticket holders when London was in Tier 2.
A rise in cases across the country and the new national lockdown put a halt to the Premier League's reintroduction of supporters in Tier 2 cities, but the football has carried on. There has also been an increase in the number of players testing positive, which has forced the postponement of a number of top flight games but the Premier League is adamant their safety protocols are sufficient to allow the season to carry on to completion.
Leeds themselves, like almost every other club, have lost players for games due to the virus. Record signing Rodrigo sat out a pair of fixtures earlier in the season after testing positive and goalkeeper Illan Meslier missed Saturday's clash with Brighton. The 20-year-old posted a message on his Instragram account thanking fans for their support and saying he was 'recovering well.'
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