JAB’S A GOOD ’UN
98-YEAR-OLD JACK FIRST IN BRISTOL TO GET NEW COVID VACCINE
❝ I live in hope that by the middle of next year people will be living their normal lives Jack Vokes, 98
A98-YEAR-OLD man has become the first person to get the Covid-19 vaccine in Bristol.
Jack Vokes received the jab at Southmead Hospital yesterday morning and was among the first in the UK to be immunised.
Yesterday marks the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine at 50 hospital hubs across the county – which includes the North Bristol NHS Trust.
Mr Vokes said: “I live in hope that by the middle of next year people will be living their normal lives.”
People aged 80 and over, as well as care home workers, will be first to receive the vaccine, along with NHS workers who are at higher risk.
North Bristol NHS Trust posted a video of the 98-year-old’s inoculation on their Twitter account.
Margaret Keenan from Coventry was the first person in the world to get the jab.
Mrs Keenan turns 91 next week and said the vaccine was “the best early birthday present”, BBC News reported.
Following the vaccine rollout, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he had “great hopes” of Covid restrictions being lifted completely by the spring or early summer.
Southmead Hospital is one of 50 hospital hubs to become operational across the country this week, with more to be announced in the coming weeks and months as the programme ramps up.
Since the Pfizer vaccine got the green light from regulators last week, staff from across the area have been working around the clock to manage the large-scale logistical challenge of deploying the vaccine.
Dr Tim Whittlestone, clinical
director at North Bristol NHS Trust, said: “This is a historic moment for the country, and I want to thank staff across our health and care system who have worked incredibly hard to get us ready to deliver the vaccine locally.”
The first person in Gloucestershire to get the coronavirus vaccine was a frontline nurse.
Kerry Holden said: “I’m really
pleased to be the first person to be vaccinated. As someone who is higher risk, I hope this encourages others to have their vaccination too.”
NHS England’s medical director, Professor Stephen Powis, said yesterday’s vaccinations are a “turning point in this pandemic”.
“This is the way out of it, the beginning of the end,” he said.
“It’s not going to happen tomorrow, it’s not going to happen next week or next month.
“We still need to socially distance, we need to follow all those restrictions in place.
“But, in 2021, vaccination programmes will mean we can get back to normality.”
NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens offered a “heartfelt thank you” to all those involved in the vaccine’s development, from scientists and volunteers in clinical trials to NHS staff.
“Less than a year after the first case of this new disease was diagnosed, the NHS has now delivered the first clinically approved Covid19 vaccination – that is a remarkable achievement,” he said.
Deborah Lee, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust chief executive, said: “After a year in which we have faced challenges of a scale never seen in the NHS’s history, I am delighted that we will be leading the programme to deliver a Covid-19 vaccine to help protect people in Gloucestershire.
“I could not be more proud of the way that my colleagues across Gloucestershire health and care system have cared for patients and
their families who were affected by Covid-19 during this pandemic and I know that they will show the same unwavering commitment to delivering this vaccine.”
The NHS vaccine programme will see patients aged 80 and over who are already attending hospital as an outpatient, and those who are being discharged home after a hospital stay, among the first to receive the jab.
Care home providers have been asked to book staff in to vaccination clinics, while GPs are also expected to begin vaccinating care home residents shortly.
People who receive the jab are given two doses of the vaccine, three weeks apart. Those who are vaccinated will receive some level of protection around 12 days after the first jab but the best protection comes a week after the second dose.