Covid: First Guernsey residents vaccinated against virus

Sue Fleming said as a care home matron it was important she protected the people she cared for

The first doses of a Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Guernsey.

Residential care home worker Sue Fleming was the first islander to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech jab on Thursday.

The States of Guernsey described it as a "landmark day" for the bailiwick, which currently has three known active cases of the virus.

Mrs Fleming said she felt "very privileged and very proud" to have received the jab.

The States of Guernsey will roll out the vaccine across its population according to a priority list set out by the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation.

Mrs Fleming, the matron at St John's Residential Care Home, said it was important for her to act as a "role model" by getting the vaccine as soon as possible.

"We have a duty of care to the people we look after so for me there was no choice at all. It's really important that we all do this," she said.

'Hard work and dedication'

Alderney front-line medical and border agency staff have been allocated 27 doses of the vaccine, which will be given in Guernsey due to the need to keep the vaccine in cold storage.

The States of Alderney hopes the Oxford vaccine, which is more easily stored and transported, will be available for care home residents in the next few weeks.

Guernsey's Health and Social Care President Al Brouard said: "To be in a position to roll out the vaccine before the end of this challenging year is down to the hard work and dedication of staff across the States of Guernsey.

"We are exceptionally pleased that we can start this vaccine programme with very low numbers of cases of Covid-19 in the islands and no evidence of community seeding.

"This makes the roll-out a much simpler process and is down to the continued #GuernseyTogether spirit in the bailiwick."

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