‘We all need the booster so that life can get back to normal’
Ex-RAF medic Helen Roberts, 47, lives in North Yorkshire and has been helping to deliver the vaccination programme to 12-15-year-olds
I joined the Royal Air Force in 1997 and my last posting was out in Cyprus, but I always wanted to transition to a career in the NHS.
Back in October 2020 I joined the East of England Covid-19 mass vaccination programme and my first role was to provide support in the planning and delivery of largescale centres, hospital hubs and community pharmacies.
Now I’m working as the children’s project manager, leading and coordinating plans. This
involves collating, analysing and improving plans, reporting to the programme director and the national team, using my past experiences to collaborate, advise and implement processes.
I’m good at seeing a problem and thinking outside the box to solve it. I can get parachuted into a project within the Covid- 19 programme and am able to run with it. Every day is different, but that doesn’t faze me. I’m very adaptable and flexible – and I’ll give 100 per cent to achieving the common goal.
Working with other people from the Forces means there’s a great sense of camaraderie. We share the same service ethos. If there’s a deadline, we’ll just knuckle down and get the job done. This is not a 9-5 job. Even though I might have to get up at 5.30am to jump on a work call, I have no problem with that. I was motivated to join the Covid-19 programme by my sense of duty, and I’m really proud to be part of it. I have a passion for helping people and making sure things are completed to the highest standard. This gives me a real sense of achievement. I like being able to make a difference.
The public response to getting boosted has been great, but there is still a long way to go. I believe the Get Boosted Now campaign is so important because we need to protect ourselves, the vulnerable and the future generations. We also need to get everyone boosted so we can get life back to normal as soon as possible.