The pioneering Covid-19 vaccine has been made available to residents of Salford today.
Ted Jones, an 86 year old man from Swinton, was the first in Greater Manchester to get the coronavirus vaccine. He has been volunteering at the hospital for eleven years and has been shielding at his home in Salford since the pandemic started.
We are delighted to have vaccinated the first patient in Greater Manchester today – Salford Royal volunteer 86 year old Ted Jones. #COVID19Vaccine #covidvaccine
Read more: https://t.co/m8P9teecv8 pic.twitter.com/OLF1ISO5qe
— Salford Royal NHS (@SalfordRoyalNHS) December 8, 2020
Mr. Jones said, ““It is a momentous occasion, I feel like a celebrity today. I do feel a bit nervous but I am pleased that we have the vaccination here now.”
He added, “I am just looking forward to being able to get back to normal and come back to work with the rest of the volunteers who I am really missing.”
There will also be mass vaccination centres set up in in the city that have been registered under the Care Quality Commission of the Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust.
James L. a pharmacist based in Salford has stated, “Although apprehensive about the speed in which it took to develop, I am hopeful to see the beneficial effects.”
Exciting times with the roll out of our #CovidVaccine programme to our patients from today. #COVID19Vaccine https://t.co/znyd6DmAKB
— Salford Royal NHS (@SalfordRoyalNHS) December 8, 2020
The UK has become the first country to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine which is being sent to fifty hospitals across the country including the Salford Royal Hospital.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been developed in the US and offers 95% protection against COVID 19 related illnesses, it is the most successful of all the drugs being trialed at the moment.
Chief executive Raj Jan of the Northern Care Alliance NHS Group (NCA) has said, “The COVID-19 vaccination programme is the single biggest immunisation programme in the history of the NHS and we are absolutely privileged and excited that our Salford Royal site and group is one of the first in the country to receive the vaccine and be at the forefront of its delivery in Greater Manchester.”
He added, “As the programme rolls out, as a hospital vaccine hub we will be providing the vaccine to our patients, including those first who are most vulnerable and at highest risk, our staff, healthcare staff groups from other settings and the wider population of Greater Manchester.”
For those living in care homes the vaccine will be given to them at the facility without need for them to travel and it is also believed that sports stadiums will begin to be used as hubs.
It is expected that 800,000 doses will be getting sent to facilities across the country this week but more will begin to get rolled out in the coming months.
The first people able to receive the vaccine will be those in care homes as they are deemed to be the most vulnerable it will be then administered to those aged eighty and over and frontline medical staff.
It will then start to be made available to people in older age groups and also younger people who have underlying health conditions.
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Dr Chris Booth, Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine and Anaesthesia at Salford Royal has said, “The COVID-19 vaccine will help us to get the virus under control; this is a real light at the end of the tunnel. I am looking forward to seeing a reduction in the number of people I treat on our unit who are seriously ill with COVID-19.”
He added, “On a personal level, staff members will feel safer in their roles and a little less worried about the risks they pose to their own loved ones in terms of passing on the virus.”
It has been reported that Ted Jones an 86 year old from Swinton was the first person to get the vaccine in the Greater Manchester area.
Last month the rates of coronavirus infection in Salford had reached alarming rates with 457 coronavirus related deaths as of 27th November.
So the government felt that it was important for the area to be included as one of the first places to gain access to the vaccine. with the area being a particular hotspot for the virus.
As of 7th December there were 13,705 cases in Salford which is down 89 cases compared with the previous week. This drop is most likely caused by the national lockdown that ended on 2nd December.
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