When their match at West Ham United was postponed, players and staff from Norwich City took the chance to help the fight against COVID-19 by receiving vaccination boosters at Norwich Community Hospital on Friday.
"If we can get as many people vaccinated as possible then we can make sure there’s at least some form of protection against the latest strain of the virus," Jonny Martin, Norwich's head of first-team operations, told the club's official website.
The Norwich players are among almost 28,000 people from the local area who have been vaccinated against COVID by the hospital. Ryan, the clinical lead for vaccines at the hospital, wants more to step forward.
'Benefits outweigh effects'
“It doesn’t matter if you’re Teemu Pukki in peak physical fitness or me, who is not particularly fit - there’s no rule on who gets side-effects and who doesn’t, but the benefits far outweigh the effects,” he said.
“It’s natural to feel nervous about getting a vaccine, but the science backs up that it’s safe, effective and the best way of getting out of this crisis, so I really encourage people to seek out the advice from the NHS and get vaccinated as soon as possible.
“In the local community, so many people look up to the Norwich players, especially young people, so it’s really good to see them here and being a part of the booster programme.”
'Follow the experts'
This view echoed that given by Jurgen Klopp earlier in the week to Liverpool supporters.
"If I come across friends or people I care about in my life away from football and they tell me they haven’t had a jab yet, I do my best to encourage them to listen to experts," Klopp said. "It’s never a case of, 'Listen to me' – it's always, 'Listen to those who know.'
"Ignore those who pretend to know. Ignore lies and misinformation. Listen to people who know best. If you do that, you end up wanting the vaccine and the booster."
