People were invited down to one of London’s most iconic gay clubs on Sunday to get vaccinated.
Its famous dance floor was turned into a makeshift clinic and 1,000 doses of the Pfizer jab were on hand to be dished out.
The move is part of a general push to drive up vaccination rates among young people, especially those who regularly attend nightclubs.
According to government data, uptake of the first dose among people aged under 30 in England is still well below two thirds.
NHS England’s new chief executive Amanda Pritchard revealed this week that a fifth of people in hospital with Covid-19 are under 35.
Several businesses with large numbers of young customers have chipped in to try and encourage people to get protected, including discount offers from Uber and Deliveroo.
The Heaven vaccine initiative comes as the cut-off to make sure you can attend nightclubs from next month arrives.
From ‘the end of September’, it’s likely the government will introduce vaccine passports as a condition for entry to crowded indoor venues.
Given an eight-week gap is needed between doses, anyone wanting to guarantee they only miss a week or two of access to their favourite spots need to get their first jab as soon as possible.
Walk-in appointments and pre-booked slots at Heaven were available from noon to 9pm, with queues of people pictured snaking from the entrance at one point.
When the vaccine drive was announced, Jeremy Joseph, owner of Heaven and nearby G-A-Y, said handy walk-in centres meant people ‘have no excuse’ not to take up the offer.
He added: ‘It is important we all do our bit and encourage each other to get vaccinated – not just because you might soon need a vaccine passport to enter nightclubs, but because we want everyone to party safely.’
It comes as the vaccine rollout is extended all teenagers aged between 16 and 17 and health officials begin to think about dealing with Covid when schools, colleges and universities return.
Children who fall within the age group can now legally consent to having the jab and will not need their parents’ permission to do so.
Until recently, only 16 to 17-year-olds with underlying health conditions or living with someone who was deemed clinically vulnerable were eligible to receive a vaccine.
It has also been widely reported that the government is considering making full vaccination a condition of entry for university halls of residence and in-person lectures.
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