There are many ways to utilise used shipping containers and now Waugh Thistleton Architects has told Dezeen that it could turn them into mobile vaccination centres that would be able to travel around the UK to ensure as many people as possible received a vaccine for Covid-19, should one become available.
According to the firm, using a fleet of 6,500 mobile vaccination centres would enable the NHS to provide vaccinations to the population of the entire country in just 16 weeks.
The organisation has provided plans to show how the used shipping containers could be kitted out. Each one would include three separate areas - one for registration, one for vaccination and one for recuperation.
The architecture studio also pointed out that using public spaces like schools or sports centres wouldn’t be practical because these facilities will need to be in use for their intended purpose, and “the logistics of disinfecting these spaces and preventing the spread of disease during the process would be far too complicated”.
It also described shipping containers as “the perfect structure” for this use, and noted that it’s easy to buy used shipping containers in the UK that are in good condition because of the volume of one-way trade with China.
The Daily Mail recently reported that scientists from King’s College London and OpenCell.bio have been working on a portable coronavirus testing laboratory contained in a shipping container. By using automation and robots, it would be possible to operate the facility with just one person, the news provider noted.