NHS and social care staff on the Island have started to receive their coronavirus vaccine as the IW NHS Trust launches its Covid-19 vaccination hub at St Mary’s Hospital.
IW NHS employees, volunteers, and health and social care workers based on the Island are being offered the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to help protect healthcare services and those who care for others.
The Covid vaccination hub, which opened its doors at 5pm today (Thursday) will operate seven days a week.
A team of vaccinators have been recruited to support the vaccine roll out to over 3,000 Trust staff and will be vaccinating up to 350 people each day.
These will be done by appointment, with the aim of getting as many NHS and health and social care workers vaccinated as soon as possible over the next three weeks.
Alice Webster, director of nursing and midwifery, said: “In a very short space of time we have set up a vaccination hub (to ensure staff) vaccinations are delivered safely and efficiently.
"I would like to say thank you to everyone who has worked around the clock to get the hub up and running.
“Delivering vaccination programmes is not something new to us but there is urgency to get the vaccine to as many people as we can as quickly as possible.
"I know our staff will be pulling out all the stops to make sure their colleagues are protected from this horrendous disease."
Some of the first people to be vaccinated, who have been directly supporting people with Covid include:
- Anna Razvi, deputy sister on the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU)
Anna Razvi, Deputy Sister on MAU
- Aurangzeb Khan, acute medicine doctor
Aurangzeb Khan, Acute Medicine Doctor
- Elizabeth Gangoso, staff nurse on MAU
Elizabeth Gangoso, Staff Nurse on MAU
- John Nelson, general porter
John Nelson, General Porter
Elizabeth, who has just had her vaccine, said: “I have worked in St. Mary’s Medical Assessment Unit for 19 years.
"I have been caring for Covid patients who needed hospital support with their symptoms and I now feel protected by having this vaccine.
"I believe everyone should have their vaccine to protect themselves and each other.”
Isle of Wight NHS Trust is among the latest tranche of hospital hubs to begin vaccinating this week, and joins a number of GPs and other hospitals in the region that have already contributed to the vaccination across the country.
The vaccinations are being administered first to those most at risk, including:
- People aged 80
- People who live or work in care homes
- Health care workers
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is typically delivered by a simple injection in the shoulder but there is a complex logistical challenge to deliver from the manufacturers to patients.
It needs to be stored at -70C before being thawed out and can only be moved four times within that cold chain ahead of use.
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