Conor McGinn MP (St Helens North), Marie Rimmer CBE MP (St Helens South and Whiston) and Cllr David Baines (Leader, St Helens Borough Council) have welcome the announcement that the first mass vaccination site in Merseyside will be in St Helens:

“We are delighted with the confirmation that the first mass vaccination site in Merseyside at the Totally Wicked Stadium in St Helens will become operational on Monday.

Since Saints’ stadium was identified in late December as a potential site to provide mass vaccination capacity for Cheshire and Merseyside, our NHS staff have worked tirelessly alongside St Helens Borough Council and St Helens RFC in a national, regional and local effort to get this up and running swiftly and safely. We are proud of all their efforts and grateful to them for everything they continue to do.

As our hospitals continue to be under severe pressure, and we see record numbers of deaths from Covid-19, we urge people to continue to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.

We know that this has been a difficult time for everyone in our community. We hope that the continuing roll-out of the vaccine nationally, and the part being played in it by local people at this iconic site in our town, will bring optimism and a sense of pride to everyone across our borough.”