Covid-19: Premier League stadium among latest vaccine sites - BBC News
Crystal Palace's ground and a fire station are among the newest mass vaccination centres to open.
A hospitality lounge in the main stand has been converted into a vaccination centre

Crystal Palace fans missing their home ground in lockdown can now book a visit - but only if they are eligible for the coronavirus vaccine.

The Premier League ground Selhurst Park is one of 39 large vaccination sites that opened this week - including theatres and a fire station.

There are now 1,500 vaccine centres, including smaller sites, in England.

More than 10 million people had received a first dose by Wednesday, 57 days after vaccination began.

The NHS is using the Glaziers Lounge in Selhurst Park's main stand - used in the times before the pandemic for pre-match drinks and hired out for functions - to deliver vaccinations to people living in and around south-east London.

At a recent post-match news conference, veteran manager Roy Hodgson - himself in the age group currently eligible for vaccinations - said he was pleased the club had "stepped forward and shown how much we care" by offering up part of the stadium to the NHS.

It is not the only sports stadium to be included in the latest batch of vaccination centres, with jabs also being delivered at Colchester FC's Jobserve Community Stadium, the Twickenham Stoop stadium - home to the Harlequins rugby union team - and the John Smith's Stadium in Huddersfield.

At Basingstoke Fire Station, firefighters will also help out with the vaccination programme when they are not responding to emergencies.

NHS England said it is now delivering vaccinations at 90 large-scale sites, 192 High Street pharmacies, more than 1,000 GP-led centres and more than 250 "hospital hubs".

Prof Stephen Powis, NHS England's national medical director, said: "I've seen first-hand what getting vaccinated means to those who are jabbed, their families and loved ones, and as more supply becomes available, we are able to expand the scale of this huge programme."

Theatres such as the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend and the Corn Exchange Theatre in Kings Lynn are also among the new mass vaccination centres.

The UK has used a wide range of locations for its vaccine rollout, with people able to get immunised at such disparate venues as Salisbury Cathedral, Blackpool Winter Gardens and a disused Debenhams department store in Folkestone, Kent.

Meanwhile, the UK is conducting a trial to see if giving different vaccines for the first and second dose could work as well - or even better - than two doses of the same type.