Billboard photos show human side of Bristol's Covid fight

Prof Finn said he was "delighted" to be part of the "thought-provoking" project

Scientists leading the fight against coronavirus are to appear in a billboard campaign across Bristol with the aim of increasing vaccine uptake.

Photographer Tom Skipp led the project and said he wanted to show the human stories behind research being carried out at the University of Bristol.

His images show scientists in their laboratories, in hospital or at home where they have been working.

The photographs will be displayed at five locations in the city until 9 May.

The poster featuring Dr Ore Francis is being shown in Kingsland Road

Mr Skipp said he was concerned a potential mistrust of science and institutions could limit the number of people willing to get the vaccine.

He said: "These photographs are all taken where the people have been carrying out their work over the last year, in university labs, hospitals and at home.

"They've all been experiencing the daily struggles and burdens put upon all of us by the pandemic with the added pressure of having the capabilities to do something about it."

The documentary photographer has worked across the world including in Rwanda, where he worked for a charity magazine aimed at improving the lives of the country's girls and young women.

He has self-funded the project.

The billboard of Dr Rajeka Lazarus will also be shown in Kingsland Road

Adam Finn, who appears in one of the photographs, said he was "delighted" to be part of the "thought-provoking" campaign.

He is professor of paediatrics in Bristol, director of the Bristol Vaccine Centre at Bristol Medical School and lead of Bristol UNCOVER (Bristol COVID Emergency Research Group).

Prof Finn said: "Vaccination against Covid-19 protects you very effectively against serious illness and death from the disease.

"It also makes you less likely to infect other people you come into contact with if you are exposed to the virus."

Tom Skipp's photos will be shown at five locations in Bristol until 9 May

The billboards are located in the following places across the city and feature these scientists:

• Kingsland Road - Dr Ore Francis, research associate, and Dr Rajeka Lazarus, a consultant in infectious diseases and microbiology at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust

• Stapleton Road - Prof Dek Woolfson, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and director of the Bristol BioDesign Institute

• Ashley Road - Prof Adam Finn

• Church Road - Dr David Mathews, reader in virology

• Trinity Road - Dr Christy Waterfall, senior research associate