Nurse celebrates 1,000 Covid jabs at Colchester Hospital
Sonya Wilkinson was the first person to administer a Covid-19 vaccination within the Trust
A nurse at Colchester Hospital has now administered over 1,000 coronavirus vaccination jabs.
Sonya Wilkinson gave out the first vaccine within the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) in December and reached the milestone at the end of February.
Sonya told us she jumped to the chance to be trained for the vaccination programme when she was asked in November.
She said: "I was just writing down the amount that I had vaccinated just on the off chance as a personal thing.
"To realise I had vaccinated so many people just felt amazing."
One of Sonya's favourite parts of her role is the atmosphere and camaraderie among colleagues.
She continued: "It's really positively charged. It's just like a big family and everybody supports each other and is there to help you when you're struggling or anything like that.
"It's good to know we're helping the public."
She's hopeful her vital role in the community will help normality return, but some parts of the job can be difficult as she witnesses the impact the pandemic has had one some people.
Sonya added: "We've had people that have come in that have been isolating for nearly a year now, and have literally only come out to have their vaccination.
"It's hard to see these people and understand the isolation they've been having."