Warrington Wolves players get Covid booster vaccine at hospital

Warrington Wolves players and staff visited Warrington Hospital yesterday, Tuesday, to receive their Covid booster vaccines – and there are urging others to follow their lead.

Today, Wednesday, marks a full 12 months since the Lovely Lane site’s jab hub opened its doors and delivered its first Covid-19 vaccination.

Since then, the centre has administered 65,000 vaccinations, including more than 6,000 booster doses.

Moreover, 95 per cent of hospital staff have received their first vaccination against the virus, while 80 per cent of eligible staff have received their booster.

Among those being vaccinated yesterday was Kylie Leuluai, former playing legend and current head of operations at the club.

He said: “I got the vaccine to protect myself from what is out there.

Kylie Leuluai receives his Covid booster vaccine at Warrington Hospital (Image: Dave Gillespie)

“I have had Covid before, and although I was not as bad as other people who have had it, I did not want to go through that again.

“I also wanted to get it for the future of the sport. We have seen the Premier Leage recently, with people coming down with Covid and being close contacts.

“Our players cannot afford to miss 11 days of high-intensity training, and we are not at the same scale as the Premier League, so getting a booster is vitally important.”

Kylie is looking forward to a safer Christmas now he has had the vaccine, and although his plans to visit France are off, he will be spending time at home with his wife, children and dogs.

Also receiving his booster was new recruit Peter Mata'utia, who commented: “I got the booster as I want to keep my family safe.

“We have five kids and I want to keep them safe and minimise the chance of them catching Covid.

“I also want to do my part to keep the sport alive. We saw over the past two years how hard it is to keep providing for your family when you take pay cuts and are not playing.

Kylie Leuluai received his Covid booster vaccine at Warrington Hospital (Image: Dave Gillespie)

“Having the vaccine is important to keep the game alive, to provide for my family and to do my part.”

Peter says he was always going to get the booster, having had jabs all his life, and also because it is needed to avoid quarantine to visit his family down under.

“The experience was painless and easy,” he added.

“Everyone has their own opinions and choice, but if you are worried about it being painful and that side of it, for me it was a painless experience.”

Despite still living in Pontefract following his transfer to Wire, Peter says he is loving his time at the club, and after seeing people around the town wearing the club shirt, he cannot wait for round one.

Jason Clark is also looking forward to visiting family in Australia over the festive period, but this was not his sole reason for receiving his booster.

“There are a lot of older people living near to where we live, so I wanted to protect them,” he said.

Peter Mata'utia receives his Covid booster vaccine at Warrington Hospital (Image: Dave Gillespie)

“The vaccine is something to help us, and plenty of people have worked hard to get it to where it is.

“It is not something that has been done overnight – people have put a lot of time into it, and nurses here at the hospital have made the experience as easy as possible.”

Lucy Gardner, executive vaccine lead at the hospital, thanked the club for its support of the booster programme and urged all eligible residents to get vaccinated.

“It is really important that everyone gets the vaccine, not just to protect themselves, but also to protect family and friends,” she said.

“Scientists are very worried about the arrival of Omicron variant, because of the speed with which it spreads and because two vaccine doses do not give us the protection we all need.

“Thankfully, a booster jab can restore protection to around 75 per cent, so the NHS is turbo-charging the booster programme to offer a top up to all eligible adults by the end of the year.

“It is really easy to book a vaccine using the national booking service, and we also have a local link for Warrington Hospital.

Connor Wrench receives his Covid booster vaccine at Warrington Hospital (Image: Dave Gillespie)

“We are releasing new appointments every day, staff are very friendly, and the whole process is very quick and easy.”

In the past two months, the hospital vaccination hub has received 6,274 patient feedback forms, with 95 per cent rating the service as very good and five per cent as good – a 100 per cent satisfaction rate overall.

The hub was in fact due to close on December 15, but in response to the risk of the Omicron variant, jab output has doubled, and the service will continue to run until at least the end of March.

This is thanks to the efforts of around 200 members of staff and volunteers who have supported the vaccination programme, including 125 vaccinators and even two pilots.

To book a vaccination at the hospital, visit warrington.nhsbookings.com/v2/#book/category/7/service/22/count/1/provider/any/

You can also book at several local sites via nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination/ or by calling 119.

A number of walk-in vaccination clinics are also open in and around Warrington, with locations and opening hours available via nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-walk-in-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccination-site