First Covid-19 vaccination on the islands

Lynsey, 35, received the Pfizer vaccination just before 9am today at Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway.

Lynsey works for NHS Western Isles’ Southside Community Nursing Team and she is part of the team which will be delivering the COVID vaccine to the wider population. She has been working with the Southside team since April 2020 as a student nurse, and became a staff nurse in October.

The vaccine was administered by NHS Western Isles Occupational Health Nurse, Marion Campbell. The Health Board’s two Occupational Health Nurses (Marion and her colleague, Janet Miskovic) will be administering the vaccine alongside peer vaccinators who are based across the Western Isles.

Lynsey, from Leurbost in Lochs, said that she felt ‘privileged’ to be the first person in the Western Isles to have had the vaccine, and commented: “In the position I’m in, I’m happy to be promoting having the vaccine to others.”

Lynsey stated that the first vaccines now give us hope that an end is in sight to the pandemic, adding: “If it allows us to get back to some normality, going on holidays, going back to the mainland and allowing us to start planning things again, it’s a positive step. I really hope the majority of people will take it when they are offered.”

In terms of the information available to her to make a decision on whether or not to take the vaccine, Lynsey said that she was comfortable with the information she had been given, which allowed her to make an ‘informed choice’.

She added: “As a vaccinator, I have also had training and read through the Green Book information (which contains the latest information on vaccines), so I had a lot of information available to me and was able to make an informed choice that I was comfortable with.”

She continued: “It’s everybody’s personal choice whether or not they take the vaccine, but I would say that everyone eligible should seriously consider taking it, especially if they are in a particular risk category. I feel absolutely fine after having my vaccination and I didn’t even feel it.”

A member of staff within a Western Isles care home was the second person in the Western Isles to receive her vaccination. Laura Copp is a Senior Social Care Worker in Dun Berisay Care Home in Stornoway.

After receiving her vaccination, Laura commented: “I’d say to people, just go for it. You are better knowing that you have been vaccinated than living in fear. People say that they can’t wait to get back to normal. This is the start of normal. You don’t even feel it.”

NHS Western Isles Chief Executive Gordon Jamieson said: “This is an important day in the Western Isles, which we hope marks the beginning of a process to bring the pandemic to an end. This will be a long process over a number of months, not just because each person has to be vaccinated twice, but because of the sheer scale of our task. We would ask everyone to be patient as we work through a programme to vaccinate everyone who requires the vaccination, in priority order.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank our local communities for their ongoing efforts over a long and extremely challenging period, to contain and suppress the virus, and ask that you continue these efforts and vigilance to keep our communities safe.

“I would also like to pay tribute to the our Public Health and Health Protection Team, who lead on this work, and wider health and social care staff, some of whom are receiving their vaccinations today, for working tirelessly during what has been, and continues to be, an extremely busy and challenging time. So many individuals have stepped up to work well above and beyond what is expected of them to protect our services, our patients and clients, and our local communities. We are very lucky to have such dedicated staff here in the Western Isles.”