As England’s biggest vaccination centre broke the prioritization policy to inoculate everyone in the 18-30 age group, thousands of Britishers reached the Twickenham Stadium located in southwest London resulting in absolute mayhem.
Thousands of people vaccinated at @twickenhamstad today. Still spaces and vaccine left: now open to all 18 and over who can get here before 7.30pm!
— @HealthierNWL (@HealthierNWL) May 31, 2021
A Twitter user who had rushed to the stadium after coming across the Tweet made by the authorities inviting all above 18 for the jab, shared his not-so-pleasant experience on Twitter.
The netizen shared a video of the holding area of the stadium where thousands can be seen flouting the basic Covid-19 norms with no social distancing and masks. “This is the moment the pen changed from being socially distanced, to a stampede!” a Twitter user named Doug Morton said sharing a video.
This is the moment the pen changed from being socially distanced, to a stampede! pic.twitter.com/VMjBC5XPYm
— Doug (@dougmorton) May 31, 2021
As per Doug’s viral tweets, after 90 minutes of wait and moving three different lines, he was sent back home because of a vaccine shortage. “They were clearly not prepared for this much demand at all! Now I have a 2-hour walk home because the public transport is unusable,” he said in his Tweet.
Looool waited 90 minutes before getting told there’s no vaccine left. Got moved to three different queues by officials before getting told this. They were clearly not prepared for this much demand at all! Now I have a 2 hour walk home because the public transport is unusable. pic.twitter.com/ISNf9aPJlk
— Doug (@dougmorton) May 31, 2021
The user then went on to share his day’s experience and misadventures.
I walked 2 miles, now I’m getting an Uber. I was at work all day, then cam here and I haven’t eaten anything since midday. 💀 I am FINISHED! pic.twitter.com/eJSYpMQhE8
— Doug (@dougmorton) May 31, 2021
The video has gone viral on Twitter, with many people around the world commenting on the mayhem and lack of social distancing at the stadium.
Official authorities proud of the arrangements
As per a report, a Twickenham Stadium spokesperson said that they were “proud” the venue was hosting one of the “biggest walk-in vaccination events” in England.
While the ones who arrived early found the process to be smooth, but eventually many had to be sent back due to vaccine shortage as the day progressed.
Up to 15,000 Pfizer vaccine doses were offered up as part of Twickenham’s “Let’s Tackle COVID” event. As per reports, the authorities had opened vaccination for under 30s after 2.30 pm and soon thousands of people flocked there, and the centre ran out of doses by 6.45 pm. Over 100 healthcare workers were deployed for the drive.
UK in early stages of the third wave: Reports
An eminent Indian-origin scientist and professor of the University of Cambridge Ravi Gupta has warned the British government of the early signs of a third wave of the pandemic. Gupta who is a member of the government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to delay the planned June 21 reopening of the country by a few weeks.
The professor informed that although the new cases of the B.1.617 variant of the Covid-19 are relatively low, it has fuelled “exponential growth” in the cases.
On Sunday, the UK reported more than 3,000 new coronavirus cases for the fifth day in a row.
