Andover’s vaccine centre has left The Lights as the theatre prepares to reopen to the public.

The vaccination hub has relocated to The Chantry Centre after giving out its last doses in the theatre on August 24, with tens of thousands of Covid vaccine doses given to the public. It is due to begin operating from the shopping centre next week.

The Lights Theatre, meanwhile, is set to reopen on September 28 as comedian Omid Djalili becomes the first to take to the stage since it was closed in March 2020.

Rather than the usual thespians and performers, The Lights has played host to a team of doctors, nurses and volunteers since December last year, after closing as a theatre in March as lockdown restrictions took hold.

The first person to be vaccinated was Mary Jackson, an 84-year-old resident, and carer for her husband, who was given the first dose by Dr Rome Candy, with Mary saying she felt “so privileged” to receive the shot.

Since then, the centre has given thousands of vaccines to the people of Andover and the surrounding area as part of the service.

It has been complemented by a Covid testing site at Shepherds Spring Lane Car Park, as well as a lateral flow test centre that was formerly at the Picket Twenty Sports Ground.