Riviera International Conference Centre opens as Covid-19 vaccination site

Torquay’s Riviera International Conference Centre is to be a Covid-19 vaccination centre, it has been announced.

MP Kevin Foster has welcomed news family doctors in Devon will begin giving the coronavirus vaccine to local people from today (Tuesday, December 15), as the NHS continues its phased roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccination programme.

The first phase of GP-led vaccination centres in Devon will see the opening of eight sites, including one at Torquay’s Riviera International Conference Centre serving where patients from ten local practices are being vaccinated.

The eight locations in Devon’s first wave of local vaccination centres will see nurses, paramedics, pharmacists and other NHS staff working alongside doctors to vaccinate people aged over 80 and care home workers, who have been identified as priority groups for a life-saving vaccination.

Kevin Foster said: “It is good to see this work getting underway in our bay only a week after the first patient in the world received the vaccine. While there is a long way to go in our fight against this virus, this is a turning point which will give hope to many residents who are especially vulnerable to it.

“My thanks go to the local GPs, healthcare workers and Torbay Council staff who have ensured our bay is ready to start the work protecting our most vulnerable residents and care home staff.”