A new large-scale coronavirus vaccination centre has opened for patients in North Somerset.

Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) vaccination programme will open at the conference and exhibition centre on University of the West of England (UWE) Bristol’s Frenchay Campus.

The vaccination centre will have a capacity of up to 1,000 vaccinations a day and makes use of the decommissioned NHS Nightingale Hospital Bristol facilities.

The centre will sit alongside the existing GP, community pharmacy and Ashton Gate vaccination sites. It will increase vaccination capacity across BNSSG as the NHS races to protect as many people as possible from the Delta variant of Covid-19 before any planned easing of lockdown.

It will also allow BNSSG to bring forward more vital second dose vaccinations from 12 weeks for those eligible, to offer people in the region the best possible protection against hospitalisation from coronavirus.