Piers Morgan praises The Sun’s ‘excellent’ Jabs Army campaign as 28k sign up to volunteer in Covid vaccination centres
PIERS Morgan today praised The Sun’s “excellent” Jabs Army Campaign as 28,000 sign up to volunteer at Covid vaccination centres.
The Good Morning Britain host spoke to Sun editor Victoria Newton this morning, as she explained how easy it is to get involved with the scheme.
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She said: “The Royal Voluntary Service have been trying to recruit volunteers to be stewards at these huge vaccination centres – they need 50,000 of them.
“You don’t need any skills or training so anyone can apply. So, The Sun partnered with them and we’ve asked all our readers to sign up.
“So far we have 28,000 people who have gone through the whole process and signed up.
“I’m one of them, I will be volunteering on Friday.
“You’ll be going to carparks and helping people get in the right queues escorting them around the area, no training needed whatsoever.”
She explained volunteers are asked to do two six hour shifts, and told where they need to go on an app.
When asked what Sun readers want most at the moment, the Sun editor added: “They want to know when they are going to get the vaccine, they are very much in favour of the current lockdown – as people are very very frightened, and they get very cross when there are breaches by Premier League footballers or popstars.
“My own view is they should allow more journalists more access into hospital wards, to show what’s going on.”
JOIN THE CAMPAIGN
Susanna Reid dubbed the campaign “fantastic”, with Piers praising the British media for supporting the drive to get the country protected from Covid.
The stewards form a key part of the Covid-19 vaccination team by making sure the centres run smoothly and safely.
So far, 1.5million Brits have been vaccinated as part of ambitious plans to give out 200,000 doses a day by next week.
The aim is to ultimately get 15million jabs into arms by March – which is a huge logistical mission.
That’s why Britain’s biggest businesses including BT, Morrisons, British Airways, PaddyPower, Sky TV and others have all backed our campaign.
The firms called on their collective 500,000 workers to sign up as volunteers to help the NHS achieve its historic victory over the pandemic.
Celebrities like Bear Grylls, Gordon Ramsay and Bake Off’s Matt Lucas have also thrown their support behind the campaign.
How to sign up:
VOLUNTEERS for the Jabs Army are being asked to first register online at nhsvolunteerresponders.org.uk.
You will then receive an email with login details to sign up online.
Finally, you will be asked to download the GoodSAM app on a smartphone which will match you to a role in your area.
Services will be opening in the coming days and weeks, with different areas up and running at different times, so you might not be required on site for some weeks. Not everyone who signs up will need to be called upon.
You need to commit to only two six-hour shifts a month at a vaccination service, and no prior experience or qualifications are required.
You will work as part of a team that will include NHS staff and volunteers. The Royal Voluntary Service will conduct appropriate background checks.
Retail giant Amazon is asking its 40,000 UK staff to join and tech firm Virgin Media encouraged 12,000 workers to follow suit.
Theme park giant Merlin and its 10,000 employees are also backing the rollout, taking potential recruits to 62,000 in one day.
They join the likes of BT, Sky, BA, John Lewis, Waitrose, Santander, Tui and Capita who are already behind our campaign.
By last night, 28,000 readers had signed up to become Steward Volunteers after we launched Jabs Army on New Year’s Day.
You can join the effort to rollout the vaccines too, and you only need to commit to two six-hour shifts a month at a vaccine service.
Just sign up via the NHS volunteer responders’ app – full details of how to join are below.
“It is really busy and I absolutely love it. I’m delighted to be playing a small part,” says volunteer Fiona Pleasant, 61, who’s helping out at her local vaccination centre in Woodford, east London.
“It’s inspiring to see what the NHS is doing here. I am happy to give my time for as long as I am needed. It is very rewarding.”
The Sun says
GIVING priority in the queue for the vaccine to volunteers who help deliver millions of jabs is a masterstroke.
There have been a great many mis-steps in the Government’s handling of the pandemic but there are signs immunisation will not be another.
Matt Hancock says we are on course to vaccinate all over 18s by the Autumn.
With the Queen and Prince Philip now leading by example, vaccination superhubs will open offering four jabs a minute.
We are now jabbing more people than any country on the Continent.
The beginnings of herd immunity in some areas and the rollout today of quick turnaround workplace testing means we can see the sunny uplands of hope coming in Spring and Summer.
What better way to reward those amazing Sun readers who have joined our Jabs Army than to give them the protection their noble sacrifice deserves?
Sign up today.
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The retired primary school teacher also says those she’s helping to get the vaccine are extremely grateful for the work of medics and volunteers.
“The elderly people who are coming in are generally very calm and relaxed, and just happy to be given their slot,” Fiona says.
“They are tremendous.”
Volunteer at nhsvolunteerresponders.org.uk
