THE clinical lead of the borough's vaccination programme has likened Bolton's vaccination efforts at Essa Academy to being like a 'festival atmosphere'.

Dr Helen Wall said that she has been overwhelmed by the community togetherness in recent weeks and loved to see thousands of people coming together to support the valiant vaccination effort.

Thousands have been jabbed in an effort to stop the spread of the Indian variant, with Dr Helen Wall overseeing the army of volunteers.

She said: "It has been really emotional but nothing less than what I expected for Bolton. When things get tough, Bolton gets tougher. We have been handed a lot of rubbish in this pandemic but we will get through this.

"The atmosphere last Sunday at Essa was amazing. We had St John Ambulance, CCG staff, volunteers, GP Federation staff - every part of the system was there that day and we all rolled up our sleeves and mucked in."

The amazing work by those at the vaccine hub meant more than 3,000 were getting their first dose daily - which Dr Wall said was a record for that day across the entire country.

Such has been the incredible demand for the vaccines, the vaccination bus extended its stay at the school yesterday.

Dr Wall added: "There was that huge thunderstorm and we all were stuck in shelters in a school carpark and we thought it was funny. Everybody has been amazing and it has been like a festival atmosphere. A real community spirit of 'let's get this done.'