Government announces location of seven mass vaccination hubs in England

Mass vaccination hubs at seven sites across England – including sports venues and London's ExCel convention centre – will begin operations next week, Downing Street has confirmed.

Hubs will be set up in London, Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Surrey and Stevenage, Number 10 said.

Venues including the Etihad Tennis Centre in Manchester and Epsom Racecourse in Surrey will be converted into regional centres in an attempt to meet the Government target of vaccinating 14 million people UK-wide by February.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman told a Westminster briefing that the centres will also include Robertson House in Stevenage, the Centre for Life in Newcastle, Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol and Millennium Point in Birmingham.

The centres are expected to be staffed with a combination of NHS staff and volunteers, the spokesman added.

The PA news agency understands that other facilities under consideration include Derby Arena; the Black Country Living Museum, Dudley; Malvern's Three Counties' Showground, Worcestershire; Villa Park, home of Aston Villa FC; and Leicester Racecourse.

It comes after supermarket chain Morrisons confirmed that car parks at three stores – in Yeovil, Wakefield and Winsford – would host drive-through vaccinations from Monday, with a further 47 offered to the Government.

Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur have also offered the use of their stadium to the NHS as a venue to roll out the coronavirus vaccine.