Student on 'emotional' first day giving Covid jab to NHS workers
Owen Sheppard, LDRS
Lucy Major, 23, helped vaccinate 35 people - Credit: Lucy Major
An Islington student has spoken of her pride after administering the Covid-19 vaccine to dozens of frontline health workers in Crouch End.
“I had my first day yesterday [January 11],” said Lucy Major, 23, who lives in Finsbury Park and is studying to become an NHS speech therapist.
“We felt proud to have done it. It will be something to tell the grandchildren about and after waiting for so long.”
The City, University of London student was stationed at the Haringey Max Vaccination Centre in N8 – a hub for the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab.
At the centre’s opening day, Lucy helped vaccinate 35 people, all of them pharmacists and NHS staff.
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“It was emotional, especially when the doses were delivered. It was a really surreal moment. I was with 30 pharmacists and everyone was so excited,” said Lucy, whose dream job is to give speech therapy to patients with brain injuries.
Explaining how the day went, she said: “You first have a five-minute consultation with a nurse who checks your background, and vaccination takes only 10 seconds.
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“Then we monitored them for 15 minutes just as a precaution – only because it’s early days and we knew some of them were driving home.
“I had mine when they offered it to me. It wasn’t painful considering it was a big needle.”
Lucy continued: “I spoke to quite a few of the people yesterday. They were all just grateful to be getting it.
“Everyone we gave the jab to said it was fine. We didn’t have any fainters. My arm ached this morning, but that’s to be expected.
“There were also people knocking on the door and asking ‘can I have mine, can my wife have hers?’ I don’t blame them, everyone wants it who I’ve come across.”
NHS England statistics show 2,474,205 jabs have been given out so far, including 393,925 second-dose jabs. The figures include both the Oxford-AstraZeneca and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.
The jabs are currently being distributed to first priority groups in the population: elderly care home residents and their carers, people aged 80 and over and frontline health and social care workers.
READ MORE: Hospital staff describe 'distressing' battle against rising Covid cases
