Covid: Anniversary of first Devon and Cornwall vaccinations

Kathleen Viney was one of the first to get vaccinated at Derriford Hospital on 8 December 2020

It is a year since the Covid-19 vaccination programme started in the south-west of England.

Dennis Lyne, 88, became the first person in Devon and Cornwall to be jabbed, at Derriford Hospital on 8 December 2020.

University Hospitals Plymouth (UHP) and Livewell Southwest said they had now given more than 450,000 vaccinations across the city and surrounding area.

More than three million doses have been administered across Devon and Cornwall.

At the time Mr Lyme said: "I've made history? Well, I'm proud of that, of course".

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was the first one to be approved by the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation, and people over the age of 80 were offered it first.

Kathleen Viney was one of the first to get vaccinated at Plymouth's Derriford Hospital on 8 December 2020.

Reflecting on the occasion, she said: "It was fun because it was something new.

"Everyone was giggling and laughing - you'd have thought it was a pop concert instead of a hospital.

"It really was a fun day, strangely enough, considering it was so serious."

Talking about the Omicron variant that has recently been detected in the South West, she said: "I'm too old to worry about it."

As well as the mass vaccination centre at the city hospital, UHP has also run one at Plymouth Argyle's Home Park ground.