More than three thousand people were vaccinated at Wembley Stadium yesterday (December 19) in a drive to deliver as many jabs as possible before the New Year.

The national stadium hosted the mass vaccination event, which saw a total of 3,174 jabs delivered including first, second and booster shots.

Chair of the North West London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Cllr Ketan Sheth, said: “We, in Brent, are very proud that the Wembley Stadium hosted this special vaccination event.

"It is a huge credit to their staff and to the NHS and Brent Council staff; and the many volunteers who made the day happen.”

The stadium served as a pop-up vaccination centre from 10am to 6pm and provided free parking in the stadium’s ‘pink area’ for those attending. Children aged 12 and over were also able to get a vaccine when accompanied by an adult.

According to the North West London integrated care system, 15,000 people have been vaccinated in Brent over the past week. The figure stands at 179,000 across the whole of Northwest London.

The mass vaccination push comes as the omicron variant has sparked a surge in hospitalisations among the unvaccinated. Brent Council reported that currently seven out of 10 people seriously ill in intensive care with Covid-19 are yet to have their first Covid jab.

Sheth urged Brent residents: “please come forward and get your booster - or your first or second jab, if you have not had them. That’s the best way to protect yourself, your loved ones and others.”

There have been over 140,000 covid cases recorded across London in the past week alone, with mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, declaring the spread of the omicron variant a “major incident”.

Earlier this week, prime minister Boris Johnson said: “I’m afraid it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need.

“But the good news is that our scientists are confident that with a third dose – a booster dose – we can all bring our level of protection back up.”