WATCH: First vaccine against Covid-19 administered at Harrogate Hospital
Compliance and Safety Officer, Al Llewelyn, was the first member of staff to receive the vaccine
Last updated 4th Jan 2021
The first vaccine in the first against Coronavirus has been administered at Harrogate District NHS Foundation Trust.
The Trust aimed to vaccinate 70 members of staff by the end of today (Monday 4 January, 2020) and hopes to vaccinate over 700 more by the end of the week with the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.
At-risk colleagues have been the first people to receive the Pfizer vaccine. Care home staff and inpatients will receive the vaccine in the coming days
Al Llewelyn, Compliance and Safety Officer and Harrogate District NHS Foundation Trust, was the first to receive the Pfizer vaccine.
He's worked at the Trust for over a decade.
He said: "It was painless. Everything went perfect. I'm overwhelmed and I'm so pleased that I've had the vaccine.
"The staff have been absolutely brilliant. They talked me through everything so I knew what was going on.
"I'm extremely happy with what I've got. I've just got to wait for the second one now.
"This is going to make such a huge difference. We've actually got some hope and it doesn't just mean a lot to me, it means a lot to everyone at Harrogate Hospital and the whole of the NHS."
Stephanie Davis, Matron at Harrogate District NHS Foundation Trust, administered the first Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.
She said: "It's a really really exciting moment. We have a lot of staff asking if they can get the vaccine and when they'll be able to get it.
"It really is a privilege to be doing this, especially on the first day. I'm really raring to go for the rest of the week.
"We're going to be working for twelve hours a day to provide vaccines so we'll be ramping up the numbers each day."