Fifty London taxi drivers assist mobile vaccinators as part of FREE NOW and NHS trust partnership
- Perry Richardson
- Feb 11, 2021
- 2 min read
Fifty London taxi drivers have been assisting mobile coronavirus vaccinators move safely around the capital to help vaccinate vulnerable people unable to attend vaccine centres.
The cabbies were selected by taxi booking app platform FREE NOW who arranged to work with the Central London Community NHS Healthcare Trust.
Drivers have been taking vaccinators to vulnerable people who are unable to get to the vaccination centres. The drivers helping on this initiative will also receive the vaccines.
The latest FREE NOW initiative follows a continued push for the Government to prioritise taxi drivers in the next phase of vaccinations.
Taxi and minicab drivers are one of the hardest hit professions in terms of hospitalisations and deaths from COVID-19. ONS data has shown that 209 taxi and minicab drivers across the UK industry died from COVID, more than any other profession.
Mariusz Zabrocki, General Manager UK, said: "We are so pleased to be able to help with the roll out of vaccines. It is vital that the most vulnerable people are vaccinated as soon as possible, and part of this is ensuring that those that cannot get to vaccination centres are able to get the jab at home.
“Drivers have been working to keep the country moving throughout the pandemic for essential journeys and we are calling on the Government to prioritise them in the next phase of the vaccinations. Taxi and minicab drivers will be vital for the UK economy to reopen after lockdown and they are one of the hardest hit professions in terms of hospitalisations and deaths from COVID. We must protect them so that they can carry on keeping the country moving."
Dil Chowdhury-Mahi, Divisional Volunteering lead for the Central London Community Healthcare Trust, said: "We are extremely grateful to FREE NOW drivers for giving up their time to help us to get vaccines to the most vulnerable. Not everyone can get to a vaccination centre so transporting nurses to deliver these vaccines to people's homes is a real lifeline."
