Artwork unveiled to celebrate life-saving Covid vaccinations

Artwork created by a college student using plastic vial caps from the Kent Covid vaccination centres is now on display at Canterbury Health Centre.

Kim Murphy, Operational Lead for East Kent and London Dental Services at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) was working at the vaccination clinics and watched as hundreds of plastic vial caps were being thrown away. She knew there was a better use for them and invited Canterbury College’s Visual Arts Department to help.

Art and design students at the college were invited to develop a plan for the plastic caps, with the successful submission used to create a unique piece of art.

Eighteen-year-old Harri Taylor’s winning design was presented to KCHFT for people to remember the pandemic and to commemorate the thousands of vaccines delivered by healthcare teams across Kent. Harri said: “I decided I wanted to do something more abstract to give a visual but hidden display as a subtle reminder of the pandemic, while still being upbeat for people to enjoy.”

KCHFT teams delivered more than one million vaccines from large vaccination sites across the county. Former shops, a leisure centre and a local theatre were all transformed into clinics so teams could deliver the jab to thousands of vulnerable people.

Emma Young, Assistant Director, Adult Long Term and Specialist Services, who led the KCHFT vaccination centres, accepted the artwork at Canterbury Health Centre. She said: “Thank you to Canterbury College for getting involved and to all the students who submitted artwork plans. Knowing the vial caps were able to be repurposed in such a creative way is impressive.

“This interpretation allows the viewer to reflect on their own personal experience during the pandemic. It’s been great to see the creativity from the arts students and collaborating with the college in such a sustainable way.”