StJoseph’sgets theCovidvaccine
RESIDENTS and workers at St Joseph’s in Shankill received their vaccinations for Covid-19, over two days last week.
Everyone at St Joseph’s was pleased to have started the two-dose process last week.
On Tuesday, January 12, the Dun Laoghaire HSE vaccine team arrived at St Joseph’s, which is solely dedicated to dementia care.
A team of seven joined the staff to vaccinate all 60 residents and staff at the centre.
As the vaccination programme is in the very early stages of being rolled out throughout the country, all parties focussed on safety first, to ensure that everyone felt secure and comfortable with the procedure itself.
The HSE team of nurses and doctors normally look after the immunisation programmes within schools and community and have been redeployed to the national vaccination programme for the foreseeable future.
‘It wasn’t sore at all!’ said resident Mary Mernagh who lives in Avoca Lodge in Saint Joseph’s, after her injection in the upper arm.
‘It is good to know I am safe now’. Staff were hugely excited and relieved to be among the first people to receive the vaccine in Ireland.
Clinical nurse manager Sarah Kuntz from Kilcoole was the first person vaccinated at St Joseph’s.
‘I couldn’t sleep last night because I was so excited about today,’ said Sarah.
‘Of course I was running through all the procedures we had put in place to facilitate the programme here and hoping it would all go well!’
Health Care Worker, Derville Keating said in a message to everyone in the community: ‘go get it when you get the chance, it will be worth it to keep us all safe’.
The team will return to Saint Joseph’s Shankill in 21 days to administer the second dose of the vaccine to everyone.
It is thought that it takes a further week
after the second dose for people to develop immunity.
In the meantime, serial testing in all nursing homes has been increased to weekly for all staff, due to the high and concerning rates of community transmission.
Norma Sheehan, Director of Nursing at Saint Joseph’s said: ‘Receiving the first dose of the Covid 19 vaccine is in itself a great ray of hope for us all here, but the threat
of Covid-19 to us and the potential devastating impact it would have here means we must remain vigilant and reactive to all the public health advice.
‘We are so lucky to have an amazing team here working together to get through this difficult time, and we would also of course like to thank all our family members, volunteers and the community as a whole for their continued support and well wishes.’