Health Secretary Matt Hancock visited a coronavirus vaccination centre near Weston yesterday (Tuesday) and urged people to visit the town on holiday this half-term.
Mr Hancock visited Riverbank Medical Centre Vaccination Clinic in St Georges to hear how the Covid-19 vaccination programme is going in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG).
He met with staff, volunteers and patients during his visit and praised their 'hard work and graft'.
Mr Hancock said: "The South West as a whole has got an amazing uptake of vaccines and a very high vaccination rate. The most important thing is for everybody to come forward and get the jab.
"Here at Riverbank, the take up rates are phenomenal. The effort that people have gone to over and above in order to get this done has been incredible and I've learnt a few things today on my tour with Dr John Heather.
"I noticed it from my desk in Westminster so I wanted to come down and see how it was done here.
"This doesn't happen by accident, it happens because of hard work, hard graft and all the staff and volunteers have played their part and I'm incredibly grateful for it.
"I'd love people to come to Weston on holiday this half-term. Holidays are important for everyone and with international travel being more difficult, I can't think of a better place than Weston to come on holiday."
Riverbank has given 70,000 vaccinations to people in Weston and surrounding areas in GP clinics, care homes and during home visits.
As of May 20, the overall number of vaccinations provided by BNSSG was 788,022, while the number of people who have received their first vaccination stood at 506,953.
The proportion of people aged 16 and over who have received their first vaccination is 65 per cent.
Dr Heather, local GP and clinical director for Pier Health Primary Care Network, added: "We're really thrilled to be able to take part in this amazing vaccination programme across the country, the NHS has never seen anything of this magnitude and we're really proud to be doing our part.
"It's a great honour to have the health secretary here and it's awesome to be able to show off to him what we've managed to achieve and he saw first hand the dynamics and the vibe here, it's a great place to work there's a really good feeling here because we know we're making a positive contribution and helping to get society back to normal, protect people and defeat this virus."
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