Tens of thousands of vaccine volunteers have been praised for giving up around two million hours of their time to help with the jabs rollout.
NHS England claimed that volunteers played a significant role in helping to facilitate the rapid rollout of boosters, jabs and other vaccines.
17500 individuals have registered their interest in paid roles since the NHS started a recruitment drive to counter the Omicron variant.
Another 48,000 individuals have signed up as volunteers to be stewards in less than a month.
As a result of Omicron’s spread, 17,500 have expressed interest in paying jobs. The photo shows a man being vaccinated in the last month
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard said the efforts of volunteers would ‘help to save many more lives’.
She said: ‘I want to give my personal thanks to everyone who has given up their time to help us make the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme the biggest and most successful in health service history.’
Jaz Kaur Bangerh, from Leeds, promotes messages around the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine in ethnic minority communities – including translating information into Punjabi.
The 51-year-old said: ‘If you want to have an absolutely brilliant time, please do volunteer – it’s really great fun.’
NHS England claimed that volunteers helped facilitate the rapid rollout of boosters, jabs, and other vaccines.
John Hardman, who has volunteered at jab sites in the capital including Wembley Stadium and the Science Museum, said he ‘can’t recommend it (volunteering) enough’.
The 38-year-old said: ‘I absolutely love volunteering for the vaccination programme – from greeting and guiding people, helping the elderly and keeping people company while they queue.
‘There are lots of opportunities to support locally, even if just for a few sessions.’
Meanwhile, 67-year-old Penny Champion said she is ‘proud’ of her role at her local vaccination centre in Lewisham, south-east London.
She said: ‘Every shift is different, and I’ve met some wonderful people and learned a lot about my own community.
‘It would be great to have more friends and volunteers join us. You will enjoy it if you do.’
NHS England advised that people who are interested can find the NHS vaccine team online.