First residents to receive vaccination at King's Lynn hospital say it 'feels wonderful'

Two residents have spoken about feeling "privileged" after they were the first to receive the Covid-19 vaccination at Lynn's hospital today.

Mavis and Ronald Cleaver were the first patients to receive vaccinations at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital this morning.

Mavis said: “We feel very privileged, it has been a difficult year for everybody and it feels wonderful to be here.”

Dr April Brown, chief nurse at the hospital, said: “This is a historic moment for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and our local community. The Covid-19 vaccination programme is spearheading our response to the pandemic.

"We are delighted to be able to start offering the vaccination to the most vulnerable people in our care, alongside some of our dedicated front line staff who have worked tirelessly in the run up to and over Christmas to deliver safe and compassionate care for our patients.”

She continued: “The NHS has made an excellent start to rolling out Covid-19 vaccines to over 500,000 people who need them most.

"This is the biggest vaccination programme the NHS has ever undertaken, and hundreds of thousands of people have already received their first Covid-19 vaccination dose, delivered by NHS teams in hundreds of hospital hubs, local GP-led services and some care homes.

"However, this will be a marathon and not a sprint. The recent rise in cases and new variant of the virus means that we cannot let our guard down.”

The hospital says the public have an important part to play and should follow these instructions:

• Don’t contact the NHS to seek a vaccine, they will contact you;
• When they do contact you, attend your booked appointments;
• Continue to follow all the guidance to control the virus and save lives (including following social distancing rules, wearing face masks and washing your hands).