Leeds United player administering COVID jabs says Elland Road vaccination centre is "testament" to the city

Now, Leeds United player Olivia Smart is donning her scrubs and was the first nurse to administer the AstraZeneca jab at the Elland Road vaccination centre, which opened to the public today (Monday).

Smart is also a trainee advanced practitoner in organ retrieval and transplant and said the conversion of the hospitality space at the club Centenary Pavilion is like bringing two halves of her life together.

As the doors to the vaccination hub took patients from the over 70s cohort from 7.30am today, Smart was there on her day off, like many other NHS colleagues working beyond their day jobs to give the medication to some of the most vulnerable people in the city.

But the semi-professional footballer said it was a no-brainer as a member of the medical profession to get involved.

She told the Yorkshire Evening Post: "It is a bit surreal and brings everything together for me. Being at Elland Road is a nice experience for me and being able to work here is testament to Leeds as a city - and the people of Leeds - that we can turn a premier league club into a vaccination centre.

"It has been three weeks making it into a vaccination centre, the last time I came here it was for a party. We are lucky that we have got a club like Leeds, they are a Premier League team and they have opened their doors up and we can do what we wish, it is brilliant.

"We volunteer our time to come in here. Most of the people are working an extra day in their week. It was a no-brainer, it is something I will never forget. There is pride to be involved but it is nice. I have done some in the community, one of the ladies was 99 and said I was the first person outside her family that she had seen since last March. One lady last week turned up in heels. It was the first time she had been out and was meeting people she had never met before so was making an effort."

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