The campaign’s target was reached in just 18 days.
The news brand kicked off the new year calling on readers to volunteer to vital NHS responder roles to help with the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine.
“Join our Jabs Army” read the front page of The Sun on 1 January and in just 48 hours after launch, an incredible almost 8,000 readers had joined.
Celebrities and politicians, together with some of Britain’s biggest firms including BT, Morrisons and British Airways voiced their support to help the NHS achieve its historic victory over the pandemic.
In today’s paper, editor-in-chief, Victoria Newton who did her volunteering shift stewarding cars at Epsom Racecourse on Friday said: “It is a fantastic achievement for which I thank each and every one of you wholeheartedly. No newspaper had ever before recruited so many of its readers to help Britain in its hour of need. At a time when thousands of you have lost loved ones and millions more have lost money and jobs, The Sun readers still give up their time for others. I, and everyone at the paper, are proud of every single one of you.”
During the Downing Street briefing yesterday, health secretary Matt Hancock applauded the initiative: “people are helping by being a community volunteer or signing up for clinical trials or the 50,000 people who now have signed up for The Sun’s Jabs Army – smashing the target in the battle against this disease – and I want to thank each and every one of you and The Sun newspaper for leading in this part of the national effort.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson added: “This will be the biggest vaccination campaign in NHS history — and a monumental national effort such as this requires each one of us to do what we can to help. The Sun’s Jabs Army campaign is a brilliant example of the power of collective action.”
As of today (19 January), an incredible 4.5 million people have been vaccinated, signalling a light at the end of the (covid-19) tunnel.
