'It's a global effort': How a Guildford store is helping to boost the Covid vaccine rollout

Helen Chandler-Wilde
·2 min read
Guildford resident Meris Cox, 80, is vaccinated by Superdrug branch manager Christine Zemba -  Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph
Guildford resident Meris Cox, 80, is vaccinated by Superdrug branch manager Christine Zemba - Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph
Coronavirus Article Bar with counter
Coronavirus Article Bar with counter

It's the middle of the day, and Guildford High Street is almost deserted.

However, inside Superdrug there is a hub of quiet activity as a small group of silver-haired customers line up to get their coronavirus vaccines – the first in the UK to receive them in a chemist shop.

"We've had carers coming in, children with their vulnerable parents. Everyone is just relieved," says Christine Zemba, the branch's pharmacy manager and one of the members of staff beginning to administer the vaccines.

When patients arrive, they are greeted by a shop assistant with an iPad, who checks them in. They are led down the aisles, past the make-up and the hair curlers, and ushered to a hastily-built waiting area at the back of the shop.

The space was used for beauty treatments before the pandemic, an assistant tells me.

The temporary vaccination waiting areas at Superdrug in Guildford -  Eddie Mulholland/ for The Telegraph
The temporary vaccination waiting areas at Superdrug in Guildford - Eddie Mulholland/ for The Telegraph

The vaccines are given out in small consulting rooms around the edge of the store. In one sits Meris Cox, 80, who looks slightly nervous about getting her jab.

Ms Zemba reads a list of the very rare side-effects and asks Mrs Cox whether she is happy to proceed. "Well, I have to, there's no choice," she laughs.

She prepares the syringe and Mrs Cox pushes down her sleeve. The needle goes into her arm and, just a few seconds later, is pulled out. "Is that it?" asks a clearly relieved Mrs Cox.

The store is administering the Oxford vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca, which needs to be kept cold.

Ms Zemba shows me the specialised fridge in which the doses are kept. There are five slim white boxes, each about the size of a pencil case. I am amazed to discover that each small box contains 100 doses.

They will get more vials delivered every few days, with this branch aiming to eventually vaccinate 1,000 people every week. The NHS doesn't go easy on them: it has allocated only five minutes for each appointment, says Ms Zemba.

"It feels like we're finally in the right direction to normal life," she says. "It's a global effort and it feels good to be a part of it."