Covid-19 vaccine: First Lincolnshire patients gets jab

An 84-year-old retired NHS worker was the first person in Lincolnshire to get the new Covid-19 vaccine.

Janet Judson, from Lincoln, received the coronavirus jab at Lincoln County Hospital.

Mrs Judson was applauded by medical staff after receiving the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine delivered in the county.

The hospital is one of the first 50 hubs across England to begin the mass vaccination programme.

Mrs Judson said she was "so grateful" to get the treatment.

"It'll make a real difference actually," she said. "It will give me a chance of a few more years hopefully."

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According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, some 800,000 doses of the vaccine are expected to be dispensed nationwide in the coming days with up to four million more expected to arrive in stock by the end of the month.

'Marathon not a sprint'

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Andrew Morgan said it was a "really important day for the NHS".

"It is the start of the biggest roll-out of a vaccination programme that this country has ever seen and I think it is a turning point in our collective fight against the pandemic," he said.

"We are absolutely delighted that our first patients, our first care home staff and our first members of the NHS family are being vaccinated today.

"This is clearly a marathon and not a sprint, but we do have to start somewhere and I am delighted that United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the first sites to begin the vaccination programme in the country."

The UK is the first country to offer the Pfizer/BioNTech jab.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said he was "thrilled" about the news but warned the UK population should stick with the rules for some time yet.

He added the rollout of vaccinations would take a number of months and that it would not be until spring or summer next year that life would start to return to normal.

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