Posted on Wednesday 28th April 2021
A campaign encouraging younger people to take up the Covid vaccination when offered is being backed by Burton Albion Football Club and Burton Albion Community Trust.
Brewers manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who has had his jab, and other players have recorded a short video and given supportive messages to help promote Staffordshire County Council’s ‘Get Vaccinated’ campaign.
This comes after the council issued a plea earlier this week calling for younger people not to delay taking up the Coronavirus vaccine when it is available.
Contributions from Jimmy Floyd and Burton players forms part of the council’s broader campaign featuring ‘relatable’ people from diverse backgrounds who all live or work in Burton. The initiative focusses on vaccine take-up but includes messages on following Covid guidelines (including during Ramadan) and the importance of regular testing.
Dr Richard Harling, Staffordshire County Council’s Director of Health and Care said:
“It’s great Burton Albion Football Club and Burton Community Trust are supporting this important message, as it is in everybody’s best interest that we get as many people vaccinated as possible.
“We want to make sure we get good uptake among people from all backgrounds, as well as among younger adults, especially in the 19-24 age group. Vaccination is the best way to avoid another surge in cases and further lockdowns.
“Local councils and the NHS provide great factual information and we have been working closely with different community groups and stakeholders to identify new ways we can get this important advice out to all residents.”
“Having relatable local people from a diverse mix of backgrounds give their positive real-life experiences and views will hopefully help encourage more people to take up the vaccine and follow other important health advice.”
Matt Hancock, Burton Albion Community Trust’s Head of Community said:
“We were happy to support this important campaign and hope getting involved will help reassure people that having the Coronavirus vaccine is the best way for people to protect themselves and each other.
“It has been a challenging time for everybody, and a lot of hard work has been made to get us this far. We all want to carry on heading out of lockdown and continuing the success of the vaccine roll-out is key to this, so the manager and players were more than happy to do their bit to encourage people to get vaccinated when it’s their turn.”
The video message featuring Jimmy Floyd, Owen Gallacher and Hayden Carter can be viewed on the council’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/StaffsCC/videos.
All people aged over 42 in England can now book a vaccination. Eligible people can book their vaccine by visiting the NHS Book a coronavirus vaccination website.
You do not need to wait to be contacted by the NHS.
For the latest information about current guidelines and Covid testing options please visit https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Coronavirus.