Westfield Stratford City shopping centre will be the home of a new Covid-19 vaccination centre from this week.

Set up and run by East London NHS Foundation Trust, the centre will be open from 8am to 8pm seven days a week and will offer vaccinations on an appointment basis to people who have been contacted to attend according to the Government’s priority list.

Scott Parsons, UK chief operating officer Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, said: “Westfield Stratford City is delighted to be able to donate space to the NHS to create a large scale vaccination centre in the heart of Newham. The service will be a huge benefit to our local community which has been particularly hard hit by the current crisis.”

When fully operational, the centre will be able to provide thousands of vaccinations a day and will be administering the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.

Dr Paul Gilluley, ELFT’s chief medical officer, said: “It has been a mammoth project to get the Westfield COVID Vaccination Centre up and running in a matter of weeks but staff at ELFT have really come together to make it a success. Everyone is proud to have been able to play their part in providing a central point for the public to get the COVID vaccine. It is another step along the way to protecting people from the virus and helping our local communities to get back on their feet.”