Puregym offers its sites as coronavirus vaccination centres
Puregym is offering the use of hundreds of its closed sites as vaccination centres in the UK as the government rushes to administer jabs amid a surge in cases.
Speaking on BBC Question Time, chief executive Humphrey Cobbold said: “I’ve got 270 sites around the country of gyms… I’ve got three and a half thousand people on furlough… our biggest interest collectively as a country in seeing us come through this as swiftly as possible.”
Addressing the minister for Covid vaccine development Nadhim Zahawi, Cobbold said: “You guys tell us what you need… we’ll do everything in our powers to make that happen”.
The gym group follows in the footsteps of other businesses, such as craft brewer Brewdog, who have offered their sites as the government grapples with vaccinating as many vulnerable people amid a surge in cases.
The UK has authorised two vaccines but a rapid rollout faces several bottlenecks in the system. The government has committed to vaccinating 13m by the middle of next month having already provided 1.3m jabs to the most vulnerable.
Today the government named seven vaccination centres set to open next week, which include London’s Nightingale hospital at the Excel Centre.
Also speaking on Question Time, Zahawi said there had been a “limitation” with the vaccine delivery. He reiterated there is no shortage of vaccines but rather “a blockage of our ability to deploy the vaccine”.
Cobbold joined shadow Chancellor Annaliese Dodds in criticising the government’s approach: “It can’t be much of a surprise we needed a rapid vaccine rollout.”
Puregym has subsequently confirmed to Morning Wire this was a formal offer.