New bookings for the Covid pop-up booster vaccination clinic at Hungerford Cricket Club have been put on hold.

Walk-in tours are always encouraged – and pre-existing reservations are honored.

The number of volunteers has doubled at the West Berkshire site following the large number of people who showed up yesterday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s statement on Sunday in favor of vaccinations and boosters has caused an increase in demand for vaccines in the district.

There are nine volunteers on three shifts a day – and all of them seem to enjoy “the spirit of Dunkirk”, even dressing in festive Christmas hats.

Queues of up to four hours were reported yesterday (Monday) at Hungerford, with people coming from as far away as Cornwall, Bristol and Bath.

Demand dropped today at the site, where a volunteer joked that “there are more volunteers than people in line today!” “.

“It was crazy yesterday,” said Alan Walker, a parking lot volunteer. “But it was wonderful. People are very forgiving. When we turn people down, they’ve been really understanding. Frustrated, but not angry.

Chris Vaughan raised his hand a fortnight ago to help.

“It is clear that Boris’s announcement has stirred people up a bit,” he said. “We had really long lines and had to turn people away, but it was all in a good mood.”

Wait times at the Hungerford site are reduced to 30 minutes, and new supplies of antigen testing are being distributed to those newly bitten as they wait in a newly erected recovery tent.

Paula Dart was on her first shift and got a half-day off to help Hungerford at the time of need from her boss at software company Sauce in Newbury.

“This is my first niche,” she said. “My boss gave me time off in the morning. But we don’t seem to have a queue today. I am happy to be able to help. “

Jane Hearn, Rosemary David and Sean Crow recorded people who arrived with appointments as well as those who showed up for walk-in visits.

“I was hoping for a bit of crowd control work instead,” Sean joked, just on his first shift since the weekend chaos.

Diane Mackey was redeployed from the Kennet Shopping Center in Newbury, which also reported being inundated with people yesterday.

She said: “The Kennet Center has been very busy, but now we have more facilities. But we go through a lot of people.