Protests interrupt opening of new Churchill Square Covid vaccination center in Brighton Brighton News

Vaccines were to be available by appointment or without an appointment from 8:30 am.

However, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the vaccination center on Monday afternoon.

The vaccination center was closed to the public during the protest.

Famous East Sussex conspiracy theorist Kate Shemirani was pictured outside the center speaking to the crowd.

Protests outside the new Churchill Square Covid vaccination center

Ms Shemirani addressed the crowd through a microphone, while other protesters held signs with messages such as “Can you trust the media?”

Churchill Square Shopping Center was also evacuated after a flare of smoke went off inside.

Images shared on Twitter by Lucas Foganholo showed orange smoke engulfing the mall after a rocket appeared to have been placed inside a trash can.

Due to the disruption, the Sussex Community NHS has asked people with vaccination appointments at the new Churchill Square center not to attend on Monday.

In a shared statement, they said: “Due to the ongoing disruption in Churchill Square in Brighton, our vaccination center in the former Topshop store will be closed until at least 3pm today.

“Please do not attend appointments.”

The former Topshop store took over from the Brighton Center as the Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (SCFT) largest Covid-19 vaccination center.

The Brighton Center site opened in January, offering up to 3,000 vaccinations per day during peak demand.

It was made up of more than 150 SCFT employees and more than 100 volunteers, every day since.

The team delivered a total of more than 250,000 first and second dose vaccines to the center.

He has now moved to the old Topshop store with free jabs for 16 and 17 year olds.

In a statement, the SCFT previously said: “Anyone with an appointment for a second dose booked at the Brighton Center on or after Monday August 30 will be contacted by text and email and notified of the change of location for their vaccination. . The date and time of the appointment must remain the same.

The Topshop store was officially closed on February 1 as online fashion retailer Asos secured a £ 265million buyout from Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT amid the collapse of the empire. Arcadia.

As a result, Topshop and Topman flagship store in Churchill Square in Brighton has been stripped of its stock and accessories.

Anyone getting vaccinated against Covid-19 in the new center is entitled to one hour of free parking at Churchill Square Orange Car Park.

Dates are staggered to allow for social distancing and people are urged not to show up early to avoid a build-up of queues.

The vaccination center will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. Entrances are welcome from 8:30 am to 7 pm.

All adults can enter and be vaccinated without an appointment. The service also offers vaccinations to 16 and 17 year olds.

To make an appointment, visit nhs.uk/covidvaccine or call 119.

The number of coronavirus cases in the city has fallen by nearly 2%, it has been revealed.

In the seven days to August 14, the number of new confirmed Covid-19 cases in Brighton and Hove fell 1.7% to 1,277.

That’s a rate per hundred thousand of the population of 438 which is higher than England’s rate of 328 and South East’s rate of 318 per hundred thousand.

However, Alistair Hill, director of public health for Brighton and Hove City Council, has warned that the drop in cases does not mean the virus is gone.

He said: “For the second week in a row, we have seen a very small change in the number of new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the city.

“While at first glance it may sound like an encouraging sign that the numbers are leveling off or are on the decline, it is really too early to relax.

“The virus is even more present in young adults and adolescents.

“However, the number of cases among the elderly has increased dramatically and we now have one of the highest case rates among those aged 60 and over in the South East.

“This has not led to the same level of seriously ill people requiring hospital care that we saw earlier in the pandemic thanks to the effectiveness of the vaccination program.”