NHS frontline staff receiving Oxford vaccine
Heath staff on the frontline have started to get the Oxford C ovid -19 vaccine after the trust covering South Tyneside and Sunderland became the first in the region to take delivery of the jab.
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust is the first acute and community trust in the North East to start vaccinating its frontline staff at South Tyneside District Hospital and Sunderland Royal Hospital, after receiving the newlyapproved Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday.
Tracy Barnett, from its Community Stroke Team, was the first to be vaccinated in South Shields.
She said it had been a “privilege” to receive it following the work of the team behind it and offered her peace of mind.
She added: “It’s also providing a great morale boost to the staff, both clinical and non-clinical, who have been working tirelessly during this pandemic.
“I hope that it gives reassurance to our patients and their families that we are now receiving this vaccination and hopefully this is the start of returning to some form of normality.”
Trust Chief Executive, Ken Bremner, said he was delighted to start the New Year on a positive note and be the first acute and community trust in the region to receive the second vaccine.
"There is absolutely no doubt that the past few months have been tremendously difficult for our staff and we had a very busy run up to Christmas with the numbers of confirmed Covid-19 patients back to where they were in the first wave” he added.
“Our priority has always been to continue to provide excellent, safe patient care for everyone who needs it.”