Colleagues among first people to get Vaccine

In an historic moment for Community Integrated Care, this week five colleagues from our charity were amongst the first people in the world to receive the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.

As vaccinations started rolling out across the county on Tuesday, the team at Winsford Grange Care Home attended the local Countess of Chester Hospital, becoming one of just a few thousand people to have had the highly-anticipated jab so far.

Service Manager, Karen Woodward, was the first of the group to receive the vaccine, remarking that she felt “extremely proud and lucky” to have had access to the vaccine so quickly, at what is a pivotal moment in the fight against Covid-19.

“I’m so privileged to be one of the first people in the world to receive the vaccine, and honoured to be the first within Community Integrated Care,” said Karen.

“It’s given me such peace of mind to think that this is the start of us coming out of the pandemic and returning to some normality. It’s been a long nine months for our colleagues and the people we support, everything has been put on hold, but finally we can see light at the end of the tunnel”

Speaking about how easy the process was at the hospital Karen said: “When I arrived at the ward, they were so organised, with booked slots to spread people out in a safe way. They were very thorough, going through my medical history and also ensuring I was checked by a Doctor prior to having the vaccine, who then prescribed it to me.”

“Receiving the vaccine was painless, it was a very similar feeling to having the flu jab, just a slight prick and it was done! Afterwards, I was given a card explaining when I had the vaccine and booking in my follow up vaccine later in the month.”

“I still can’t believe I’ve been amongst the first people to have it – it’s a moment I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

Mark Adams, CEO at Community Integrated Care said, “After what has been an unprecedented year, to have a Covid-19 vaccination created, approved and rolled out so quickly is a scientific marvel.”

“Throughout the pandemic, our charity has been at the forefront of developments, reacting swiftly and comprehensively to the crisis. And now, it fills me with pride to see Karen and the team at Winsford Grange to be some of the first people to receive the vaccine. I hope that as we end the year, this gives us all a bit more optimism for the future.”