Entertainment venues join NHS effort to get more young people vaccinated

The United Kingdom's National Health Service has set up COVID-19 vaccine centers at entertainment venues including nightclubs and amusement parks, in a bid to prop up flagging inoculation rates among young people.

Heaven, an iconic nightclub located in central London, will host a pop-up vaccine site on Sunday, owner Jeremy Joseph confirmed on Twitter. "Protect yourself, protect others," he said.

At the venue, NHS staff will administer Pfizer vaccines to people who are yet to receive their first vaccine, ensuring the majority who turn up will be young adults.

Last week the NHS announced the opening of a vaccine center at one of the UK's most visited amusement parks, Thorpe Park, which also employs a large number of young seasonal workers.

"We know that people, and particularly young people, are leading busier lives," said Nikki Kanani, deputy senior officer for the NHS COVID-19 vaccination program. "So whether you are queuing for the Colossus (ride) or staffing the ice cream kiosk, we are making getting a jab as easy as possible."

The NHS has opened pop-up vaccine centers at a variety of popular locations, including the Primark clothing store in Bristol and the Tate Modern museum in London, where DJ Zoe London performed a set.

Temporary vaccine centers have opened at green spaces across London, as well as at large events, including The Open golf tournament in Kent and the Latitude Festival in Suffolk, which both took place late last month.

The centers are part of the UK's "Grab a Jab" drive, which is primarily aimed at raising vaccine rates among young people.

"People can grab-a-jab when they pop into Primark or while sunbathing in the park," the NHS said in a statement.

Health authorities are concerned that low vaccination rates among the young will contribute to the continued spread of the virus, especially since many social distancing and lockdown measures were dropped last month.

Two-thirds of 18- to 24-year-olds in the UK have received their first COVID-19 vaccine, although jab rates fell steadily through July, when 416,000 people in that age group received treatment in the first week, compared to 265,000 in the second, 131,150 in the third, and 97,180 in the fourth week of the month, according to NHS data.

An Office for National Statistics survey found that 9.5 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds in the UK are hesitant about getting treatment, compared to 4 percent of adults of all ages. The fact that the risk of severe disease from COVID-19 is relatively low in younger people may also play a role in lower uptake.

Pippa Nightingale, chief nursing officer at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, said that activity at west London vaccine centers "plummeted" in mid-July, when several sites were operating at just 30 percent capacity.

"We've got staff there, we've got vaccines there, but we are really struggling," Nightingale told an NHS health overview committee. "That's the picture across London; it's also a picture across the country."

Nightingale encouraged young people who are "sitting on the fence thinking they're invincible" to come forward and get the jab. She backed the opening of vaccine centers at entertainment venues, saying that young adults might prefer "more of a festival event" when seeking treatment.